GIFT  OF 


Campbell's  1907 
Soil  Culture  Manual 


A  Complete  Guide  to  Scientific  Agriculture  as 
Adapted  to  the  Semi-Arid  Regions. 


BY 
H.  W.  CAMPBELL. 


The  proper  fitting  of  the  Soil  for  the  Conservation 
and  Control  of  Moisture  and  the  Development 
of  Soil  Fertility;  How  Moisture  Moves  in  the  Soil 
by  Capillary  Attraction,  Percolation  and  Evapor- 
ation; the  Relation  of  Water  and  Air  to  Plant 
Growth,  and  how  this  may  be  Regulated  by 
Cultivation.  :::::::::::: 


EIGHTH  THOUSAND. 


PRICE  $2.50 
THE  CAMPBELL  SOIL  CULTURE  Co.  (INC.) 

Lincoln,  Nebr. 
U.  S.  A. 


Copyrighted  190 9  by  H.  W.  Campbell 
Lincoln,  Neb. 


Woodrufff  Bank:  Note  Company 

Printers  and  Binders 

Lincoln,  Neb. 


CONTENTS. 


PASE 

Introduction 5 

How  to  Use  the  Manual 15 

The  Ideal  Farmer 19 

True  Basis  of  Prosperity 24 

Small  Farms;   Better  Farmmg 28 

A  Look  Into  the  Future 32 

The  Disk  Harrow 37 

Plowing 44 

Sub-Surface  Packing 58 

Summer  Culture  of  the  Soil 75 

Physical  Condition  of  the  Soil 91 

Soil  Fertility : 99 

Water  Holding  Capacity  of  the  Soil 107 

Importance  of  Air  in  the  Soil Ill 

Percqlation,  or  Getting  Water  into  the  Subsoil 117 

Evaporation 123 

Advantages  of  the  Semi-Arid  Region 130 

Cultivation  of  the  Soil 137 

Barnyard  Manures 148 

Corn  Growing 156 

Growing  Wheat 175 

Growing  Potatoes 197 

Trees  on  the  Farm 204 

Sugar  Beet  Growing 218 

Alfalfa 226 

Seeking  New  Arid  Plants 232 

Irrigation 235 

Arboriculture 241 

Soil  Mulch  or  Dust  Blanket 247 

Getting  Most  out  of  the  Farm 251 

Practical  Results  of  the  Campbell  System 255 

Winter  Killing  of  Grain '.' 263 

Stooling  of  Grain 266 

Quantity  of  Seed  per  Acre : 270 

The  Inevitable  Dry  Seasons 273 

Domain  of  Scientific  Soil  Culture 276 

Progress  in  Agricultural  Science 279 

Crops,  Markets  and  Prices.  .' * 282 

World-Wide  fame  of  this  Work 286 

Good  Farming  and  Good  Morals 293 

Profit  of  Scientific  Soil  Culture 296 

Correspondence  and  Comment 298 

Tools  for  the  Farm 302 

Some  History  of  the  Movement 305 

Correspondence  Course  in  Soil  Culture 311 


445130 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

H.  ^ .  Campbell Frontispiece 

Montana  Wheat  Field  Near  Great  Falls 12 

Burlington  Model  Farm  near  Holdrege 16 

Feasting  Time,  Colorado  Melons 2i 

Corn  in  Colorado  90  Miles  East  of  Denver 25 

Campbell  System  Vegetables 29 

Montana  Wheat  Without  Irrigation 34 

Following  Harvester  with  the  Disk 39 

Showing  Soil  as  the  Plow  Leaves  It 46 

Surface  of  Soil  Harrowed  without  Sub-packing 47 

Showiig  Soil  as  the  Packer  Leaves  It 60 

Showing  Soil  After  Packing  and  Harrowing 63 

The  Sub-Surface  Packer 64 

Development  of  Roots  in  Firm  Soil 65 

Root  Development  in  Loose  Soil 67 

Germination  of  Wheat  in  Different  Soils 68 

Summer  Culture  vs.  Summer  Fallow 76 

Watbf  Holding  Capacity  of  Soils  Illustrated 108 

Hea\y  Rain  Crust,  and  How  Broken  Up 113 

Effect  of  Shutting  Out  the  Air 115 

Capillary  Attraction  Illustrated 118 

How  Water  is  Stored  in  the  Soil 1 19 

A  Modern  Manure  Spreader 154 

Development  of  Corn  Roots 165 

Cornfield  by  Campbell  System  in  North  Dakota 167 

Pomeroy  Farm  Corn  in  very  Hot  Season 171 

Wheat  in  Three  Stages  of  Growth 179 

Seeding  with  Different  Kinds  of  Drills 182 

Growth  of  Listed  Wheat 184 

Effect  of  Different  Depths  of  Seeding 185 

Harvesting  Wheat  Fifty  Years  Ago 188 

Eastern  Colorado  Wheat 190 

Wyoming  Wheat  in  the  Dry  Country 191 

Pomeroy  Farm  1904  Wheat  Crop 193 

Germination  of  Wheat  in  Different  Soils 194 

Root  Development  with  Shallow  Cultivation 198 

Deep  Cultivation  and  Root  Development 200 

Magnified  Roots  and  Soil 201 

Peach  Tree  Five  Months  Old,  Pomeroy  Farm 207 

Peach  Tree  17  Months  After  setting 210 

White  Elm  17  Months  After  Planting 215 

Thinning  Sugar  Beets • 218 

Forty  Acre  Beet  Field 219 

Modern  Beet  Sugar  Factory 221 

Sugar  Beets  in  North  Dakota  by  Campbell  Method 223 

J.  Sterling  Morton,  Father  of  Arbor  Day 242 

A  Prairie  Park,  Arbor  Lodge 243 

Arbor  Lodge,  Home  o?  Secretary  Morton 244 

Arbor  Lodge  Trees. 245 

Soil  Mulch  and  Dust  Blanket  Before  Rain. 248 

Soil  Mulch  and  Dust  Blanket  After  Rain 249 

Sorghum  by  Thorough  Cultivation 257 

Growth  and  Stooling  of  Grain 267 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Agricultural  industry  is  undergoing  in  these  opening 
years  of  the  Twentieth  century  a  most  wonderful  develop- 
ment in  the  direction  of  that  perfection  of  method  and 
practical  application  of  scientific  principles  which  has  been 
the  hope  and  inspiration  of  thoughtful  students  of  agri- 
culture through  ages. 

That  which  is  being  wrought  out  by  workers,  by  stu- 
dents, by  thinkers,  by  investigators  in  all  branches  of  ag- 
riculture— in  plant  breeding,  in  domestic  animal  industry, 
in  crop  diversification,  in  planting,  and  harvesting,  and 
marketing — goes  directly  to  the  final  solution  of  the  essen- 
tial problems  connected  with  production. 

Farming  methods  of  the  past  century  were  those  of 
preceding  years;  the  methods  of  our  century  are  to  be 
those  of  the  next  thousand  years. 

This  does  not  mean  that  our  forefathers  did  not  know 
anything  about  farming,  nor  that  what  they  did  was  all 
wrong,  nor  that  they  failed  to  solve  the  problems  of  their 
day  and  age.  It  does  not  mean  we  are  on  the  verge  of 
revolution  and  are  about  to  overturn  old  methods  and 
adopt  entirely  new  ones  all  round.  But  with  the  more 
varied  needs  of  mankind  as  civilization  becomes  more 
complicated,  and  the  proportionate  narrowing  of  our  fields 
as  we  approach  the  limit  of  tillable  area,  the  new  and  com- 
plicated problems  are  to  be  met  only  by  the  putting  to- 
gether of  many  heads  and  the  accumulation  of  much 


^;  ,.•.•**  <'AMPJ3P>LL'S    SOIL    CULTURE     MAM   A  I. 


wisdom.  The  strides  we  are  making  just  now  are  beyond 
those  of  other  days.  We  are  in  position  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  accumulation  of  evidence  and  to  discover  the 
truth  that  shall  endure. 

The  reader  will  not  find  in  the  pages  of  this  Soil  Cul- 
ture Manual  a  universal  guide  to  success  in  farming.  But 
he  will  find  something  here  that  will  be  of  immense  value 
to  him  if  he  but  has  the  patience  and  industry  to  master 
the  principles  and  is  willing  to  give  a  fair  trial  to  the 
methods  which  are  here  described  for  the  treatment  of 
soils.  It  is  presented  with  a  confidence  born  of  years  of 
investigation  and  experiment,  and  of  success  in  many 
seasons  of  adverse  conditions  spread  out  over  many  states 
with  soil  and  climate  as  different  as  it  is  possible  to  have. 

This  Soil  Culture  Manual  has  to  do  with  just  one  sub- 
ject, or  rather  one  branch  of  agriculture,  but  it  so  hap- 
pens that  this  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  all  agricul- 
ture. Production  is  the  end  and  aim  of  all  farming.  Pro- 
duction is  possible  only  where  soil  conditions  are  right, 
for  no  matter  what  may  be  the  climate  or  the  extent  of 
cultivation,  there  cannot  be  crops  if  there  is  not  fertility 
available  in  the  soil.  Available  fertility  may  exist,  under 
most  favored  conditions,  where  there  has  been  no  culti- 
vation; but  it  is  more  often  true  that  fertility  comes  from 
conditions  brought  about  by  cultivation  done  intelligently. 

This  handling  of  the  soil  with  a  view  to  the  devel- 
opment of  available  fertility  is  Scientific  Soil  culture. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  present  in  this  Manual  the  re- 
sults of  years  of  labor  in  this  field.  I  desire  to  treat  a  com- 
plicated subject  with  .plainness  and  frankness.  Here  is 
material  for  a  discourse  filled  with  scientific  terms,  but  I 
shall  try  to  be  so  plain  that  everyone  may  know  all  about 
it.  I  shall  give  something  of  the  history  of  the  develop- 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  7 

merit  of  what  has  come  to  be  known  in  a  dozen  or  more 
states  as  the  Campbell  system  of  soil  culture;  shall  tell 
why  and  how  I  came  to  make  the  investigations  which 
led  up  to  this;  shall  discuss  freely  the  principles  which 
lie  at  the  foundation;  shall  tell  what  has  been  accom- 
plished and  what  may  be  expected;  and  I  shall  give  here 
instructions  as  to  how  to  apply  these  principles  as  nearly 
complete  as  possible. 

In  previous  editions  of  the  Manual,  and  in  various 
other  publications  and  in  public  addresses,  commencing 
a  dozen  years  ago,  I  have  insisted  that  science  in  soil  cul- 
ture and  the  more  perfect  adaptation  of  scientific  methods 
to  farming  would  result  in  doubling  the  crops  in  the  great 
semi-arid  belt  of  America.  In  later  years  I  have  made 
the  statement  still  stronger  and  have  declared,  to  the 
amazement  of  some  of  the  doubting  ones,  that  crops  have 
not  been  one-fourth  what  they  should  have  been  in  this 
region.  It  is  because  I  have  had  faith  in  this  region  and 
have  been  confident  that  crops  could  be  made  as  certain 
here  as  elsewhere,  that  I  have  pursued  investigations, 
often  under  the  most  discouraging  conditions  and  in  the 
face  of  fierce  opposition,  and  it  is  in  the  hope  that  I  may 
convince  others,  not  a  few  but  thousands,  that  I  publish 
this  Manual. 

While  the  investigations  which  have  resulted  in  the 
development  of  this  system  of  soil  culture  have  been  car- 
ried on  in  the  semi-arid  belt,  or  that  region  where  the  rain- 
fall is  too  small  for  successful  farming  in  the  ordinary 
way,  it  should  be  understood  at  the  outset  that  the  prin- 
ciples are  applicable  anywhere  and  in  any  climate,  and 
that  even  where  there  is  an  excess  of  moisture,  those  who 
make  use  of  the  system  will  achieve  results  of  great  value. 
The  difficulties  to  be  overcome  by  the  farmer  in  assuring 


8  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

good  crops  are  so  pronounced  in  this  semi-arid  region  that 
it  seems  specially  fitted  for  development  of  the  very  highest 
type  of  agricultural  science;  but  everywhere  the  problems 
are  much  the  same,  and  having  shown  the  way  to  success 
here,  the  way  will  be  much  easier  elsewhere.  There  is 
hardly  a  section  of  the  United  States  that  can  be  said  to 
be  free  from  the  danger  of  crop  failure  by  reason  of  the 
irregular  distribution  of  the  rainfall.  The  season  of 
drouth,  or  weeks  of  dryness  perhaps  sandwiched  between 
other  weeks  of  excessive  rainfall,  are  common  to  all  re- 
gions. In  showing  how  to  overcome  the  danger  which 
is  ever  present  in- the  semi-arid  region  we  have  also  shown 
how  to  avoid  the  danger  which  comes  occasionally  in  any 
farming  country.  The  system  therefore  is  of  universal 
application.  If  in  discussing  it  solely  in  relation  to  the 
problems  of  the  semi-arid  region  I  seem  to  ignore  this 
larger  truth,  it  is  not  because  it  is  not  well  understood. 

I  also  admonish  the  reader  not  to  take  fright  of  the 
subject  because  it  appears  to  be  ponderous  and  uninter- 
esting. The  term,  "scientific  soil  culture,"  may  seem 
heavy,  but  I  assure  you  that  when  once  you  have  grasped 
the  principles  here  made  use  of,  the  study  will  become 
the  most  fascinating  imaginable.  Other  branches  of  ag- 
riculture are  attractive  to  intelligent  persons.  Consider 
what  has  been  achieved  in  stock  breeding,  in  adaptation 
of  breeds  to  certain  purposes,  in  bringing  about  perfec- 
tion in  the  domestic  animals;  then  observe  what  has  been 
done  in  the  production  of  the  improved  varieties  of  vege- 
tables and  fruits,  and  in  creation  of  marvelously  beautiful 
flowers;  all  the  result  of  applying  the  genius  of  man  to 
intelligent  direction  of  the  resources  of  nature — and  in 
the  special  line  of  scientific  treatment  of  the  soil  to  secure 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  9 

a  variety  of  results  there  is  just  as  much  opportunity  for 
original  research.  The  flower  garden  does  not  contain  all 
the  wonders. 

I  present  this  Manual  to  the  public  with  greater  con- 
fidence than  its  predecessors,  because  the  evidence  has 
been  accumulating  that  the  secret  of  success  in  the  semi- 
arid  region  lies  in  proper  fitting  of  the  soil.  To  the  evi- 
dence which  has  come  directly  from  the  numerous  exper- 
imental farms  that  have  been  handled  under  my  personal 
direction  has  been  added  the  testimony  of  scores  of  farmers 
who  have  followed  more  or  less  imperfectly  the  directions 
contained  in  previous  editions  of  the  Soil  Culture  Manual. 
Along  with  this  is  the  more  important  fact  that  every- 
where in  the  states  most  affected  there  has  come  to  be 
general  recognition  of  the  vital  truths  of  the  system  and 
there  is  such  a  unanimous  interest  in  the  whole  subject 
that  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  beg  for  a  hearing.  I  have 
greater  confidence  also  from  the  fact  that  all  the  time  I 
have  been  learning  more  and  more  about  the  subject,  have 
been  developing  my  own  ideas  and  dissipating  my  own 
doubts,  until  I  feel  sure  that  what  I  am  here  to  present 
has  far  greater  merit  than  anything  which  has  preceded. 
I  have  not  done  with  experiments  nor  have  I  satisfied  my- 
self that  I  have  reached  the  very  best  possible  results, 
but  I  do  know  that  I  have  gone  a  long  way  toward  per- 
fecting a  system  through  which  the  forces  of  nature  may 
be  made  to  serve  man  at  all  times. 

It  is  not  intended  that  this  Soil  Culture  Manual  shall 
contain  any  simple  code  of  imperative  rules  to  govern 
every  act  of  the  farmer  in  his  culture  of  the  soil.  The 
nature  of  the  subject  forbids  this.  What  must  be  done 
is  to  give  the  inquirer  a  clear  statement  of  general  prin- 
ciples, with  simple  directions  for  applying  the  same  under 


10  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

many  varied  conditions,  and  to  explain  the  reason  for 
doing  certain  things — then  to  leave  it  to  the  intelligent 
direction  of  the  farmer  to  do  the  rest.  These  general 
principles  relate  to  soil  physics,  to  the  character  of  the 
soil,  the  texture  of  the  soil,  the  movement  of  moisture 
in  the  soil,  the  development  of  soil  fertility  or  those  ele- 
ments essential  to  plant  growth,  and  what  can  be  done 
and  must  be  done  by  cultivation  to  affect  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  the  crop.  One  who  comprehends  clearly 
these  principles  and  labors  with  the  knowledge  that  is  in 
him,  will  find  the  way  to  profitable  agriculture. 

There  can  be  no  universal  rule  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil.  Conditions  are  so  different  that  there  must  be 
variation.  Everyone  knows  that  drainage  is  necessary 
to  some  soils  in  some  climates.  It  is  not  so  well  under- 
stood that  where  the  rainfall  is  insufficient  there  can 
be  conservation  of  the  moisture  by  cultivation.  Neither 
is  it  generally  known  that  by  and  through  cultivation  of 
the  soil  there  is  brought  about  great  changes  in  the  phys- 
ical condition  so  that  soils  having  but  little  available  fer- 
tility may  be  strengthened  and  others  burdened  with 
plant  elements  are  modified.  Some  important  general 
rules  may  be  applied,  however,  in  the  semi-arid  region, 
so  that  they  may  be  followed  with  assurance  that  there 
will  be  conservation  of  moisture  and  development  of  plant 
elements  and  the  consequent  growth  of  crops  equal  to 
those  grown  in  the  more  humid  regions  of  the  country. 

It  ought  not  to  be  difficult  for  any  one  to  recall  facts 
and  incidents  which  have  come  under  his  personal  ob- 
servation tending  to  prove  the  main  arguments  in  sup- 
port of  our  position.  Take,  for  instance,  the  very  common 
incident  of  a  large  plant  growth  occurring  right  where 
there  had  been  the  previous  winter  a  large  drift  of  snow 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAI  n 

lodged  behind  a  windbreak  in  the  field.  The  average 
farmer  will  readily  explain  it  all  by  a  statement  that 
where  the  snow  piled  up  on  the  ground  it  gave  a  certain 
protection  to  the  grain,  and  that  it  acted  like  a  blanket 
to  preserve  the  grain  from  harm,  thus  assuring  a  better 
stand  of  the  grain.  But  this  explanation  fails  to  explain. 
It  does  not  get  at  the  real  truth.  But  investigation  will 
show  that  the  snow  melted  gradually  in  the  spring,  and  by 
this  slow  melting  process  the  water  was  able  to  percolate 
into  the  soil  so  that  the  moisture  reached  a  great  depth, 
and  that  this  moisture  was  stored  deep  in  the  soil  as  in  a 
reservoir,  that  later  in  the  season,  when  the  hot  days  came 
and  evaporation  was  rapid  from  the  surface,  this  stored 
moisture  was  supplied  to  the  roots  of  the  plants  so  that 
they  kept  on  growing  at  a  time  when  other  plants  in 
the  field  were  checked  in  growth  by  the  drouth.  The  soil 
conditions  were  different  beneath  the  snow  drifts.  There 
was  an  abundance  of  moisture  and  it  was  deep  in  the  soil. 
By  capillary  movement  of  the  water  at  the  right  time,  and 
having  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  water  at  the  source, 
the  plants  were  supplied  with  what  they  needed,  and 
growth  was  perfect,  regardless  of  the  climatic  conditions 
which  prevailed. 

The  incident  is  a  valuable  lesson  in  the  storage  and 
conservation  of  moisture  in  the  soil,  and  the  matter  of 
the  production  of  the  proper  physical  condition  in  the 
soil  to  secure  best  results. 

In  the  pages  of  this  Manual  it  will  be  shown  that  the 
results  which  followed  this  accidental  development  of 
proper  soil  conditions  may  be  duplicated  on  whole  fields 
and  that  what  was  done  by  the  chance  piling  up  of  the 
snow  behind  a  fence  or  hedgerow  has  shown  us  what  can 
be  done  in  a  larger  way  by  cultivation  in  the  right  way 


12  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

and  at  the  right  time.  It  will  be  shown  that  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  in  regions  where  the  rainfall  is  scant, 
that  there  shall  be  this  storage  of  the  water  in  the  soil 
and  conservation  of  the  water  so  that  there  is  no  waste. 
The  greater  amount  of  water  that  can  be  stored  in  such 
a  way  that  it  will  be  used  when  needed,  not  only  storage 
before  the  crops  are  planted  but  storage  during  the  grow- 


MONTANA  WHEAT 

Field  forty-five  miles  southeast  of  Great  Falls.     Wheat 
grown  Without  Irrigation. 

ing  season,  and  the  greater  success  had  in  so  cultivating 
the  ground  as  to  save  all  this  moisture  for  the  use  of  the 
plant  while  growing,  the  better  will  be  the  results. 

But  aside  from  mere  storage  of  the  water  there  must 
be  ever  kept  in  mind  this  fact  that  both  the  cultivation 


13 


and  the  storage  of  the  water  are  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
ducing a  proper  physical  condition  of  the  soil.  The  soil 
must  be  in  such  condition  that  there  will  be  the  greatest 
development  of  roots.  There  must  be  development  of 
roots  and  these  roots  must  be  able  to  take  from  the  soil 
the  elements  of  plant  growth.  There  must  be  available 
fertility.  The  time  comes  nearly  every  season,  in  almost 
every  climate,  when  there  is  severe  drouth  for  a  few  days; 
and  unless  the  roots  are  properly  developed  in  good  soil, 
disaster  comes  to  the  growing  plants.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  find  that  the  apparently  fine  growth  of  weeks  is 
withered  by  a  day  or  two  of  extremely  dry  and  hot  weather. 
Such  could  not  be  the  case  if  the  plant  was  prepared  for 
such  an  emergency.  The  essential  thing  is  to  have  the 
moisture  available,  to  have  the  soil  condition  such  as 
to  develop  good  roots,  and  then  drouths  can  be  defied. 

If  the  reader  is  interested  in  irrigation,  then  let  it  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  principles  which  are  here  applied 
are  applicable  as  well  to  irrigated  land.  We  have  no 
doubt  that  much  that  is  here  written  will  be  found  espec- 
ially useful  to  irrigation  farmers — the  moisture  and  its 
relation  to  soil  fertility,  the  movement  of  moisture  in  the 
soil,  the  part  played  by  air  and  other  elements  in  the  soil, 
and  the  general  principles  regarding  fertility. 

This  book  is  offered  to  the  intelligent  and  progressive 
farmers  of  the  great  west.  And  this  term  "the  great  west" 
has  come  to  have  a  new  meaning  to  very  many  in  recent 
years.  It  is  indeed  the  land  of  great  possibilities.  We 
have  never  more  than  half  appreciated  it  in  the  past.  It 
is  a  region  which,  under  application  of  true  scientific 
principles  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  is  destin^  d  to  be 
covered  with  countless  homes  of  happy  American  fami- 
lies, with  cities  and  towns  prosperous  and  growing.  May 


14 

God  speed  the  day  when  the  people  will  realize  that  these 
vast  plains  were  not  intended  to  be  mere  grazing  lands 
for  the  few  cattle  companies,  but  that  they  will  give  sup- 
port to  many  small  herds  and  flocks  cared  for  by  many 
men,  and  that  all  the  grass  and  cereals  of  the  best  agri- 
cultural regions  of  the  earth  will  be  grown  here  in  abun- 
dance. 

Ours  is  an  age  of  progress  in  many  lines.  We  are 
witnessing  almost  miracles  in  industrial  and  commercial 
life.  Those  of  us  who  are  devoted  to  the  noblest  calling 
of  all  should  not  be  behind  our  neighbors  in  taking  up 
with  all  that  is  good  among  the  new  things  of  the  century. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  II. 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  MANUAL. 

Complete  mastery  of  the  principles  governing  scien- 
tific soil  culture  is  essential  to  success  in  practical  field 
work. 

These  are  the  steps  likely  to  be  followed  by  one  who 
will  achieve  highest  success:  Honest  inquiry  into  the 
merits  of  the  system,  study  of  the  question  with  mind 
divested  of  all  prejudice,  courage  to  apply  the  principles 
regardless  of  the  influence  of  wrong  outside  teaching  or 
influences,  study  over  and  over  again  of  all  that  is  here 
laid  down  in  regard  to  handling  the  soil,  intelligent  ap- 
plication to  conditions  as  they  may  be  found  affected 
by  local  influences. 

One  who  takes  up  this  Manual  deeply  or  even  slightly 
prejudiced  against  all  things  new  and  disposed  to  scoff 
at  or  criticise  all  teaching  that  does  not  have  the  recom- 
mendation of  age,  will  make  no  headway.  Honest  doubts 
will  not  stand  in  the  way,  if  the  mind  is  free  to  accept 
the  truth  no  matter  who  reveals  it.  But 'at  a  time  when 
the  most  eminent  students  of  agriculture  throughout  the 
world  are  admitting  that  their  views  are  undergoing 
rapid  changes,  and  when  there  is  everywhere  a  passion 
for  new  things,  new  plants,  new  machinery,  new  methods 
— no  man  should  be  found  disputing  the  conclusions  of 
practical  experience. 

Then  there  must  be  not  only  courage  to  go  right  out 
into  the  fields  and  do  the  things  which  must  be  done  for 


16 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


success,  but  a  desire  to  see  true  principles  fairly  tried. 
Sometimes  the  farmer  starts  out  bravely  to  adopt  scien- 
tific soil  culture,  but  then  he  comes  up  against  something 
that  appears  to  be  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  his  father 


BURLINGTON  MODEL  FARM 

Crop  of  Wheat  at  Holdrege,  Neb.,  in  1906,  yielding  51^  bu. 
per  acre  testing  64  Ibs. 

or  grandfather  or  a  neighbor,  and  he  resolves  upon  such 
a  variation  that  he  undoes  all  he  has  accomplished. 

But  the  danger  to  the  novice  lies  chiefly  in  his  failure 
to  study  the  method  enough.  He  must  know  it  well. 
The  principles  of  scientific  soil  culture  must  be  grounded 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  17 

deep  within  him.  He  must  be  saturated  with  the  subject. 
It  must  become  part  of  his  being,  and  this  can  only  be  ac- 
complished by  going  over  the  subject  many  times  and 
mastering  every  detail,  always  guarding  against  a  wrong 
understanding  of  a  seemingly  minor  question. 

The  professional  man  prepares  himself  for  his  voca- 
tion by  long  study  of  the  books  in  which  are  laid  down  the 
general  principles  of  his  profession  or  science.  The  law- 
yer cons  the  big  books  which  contain  nothing  but  common 
sense  principles.  The  engineer  or  architect  or  draughts- 
man spends  months  in  special  study  of  very  simple  prin- 
ciples. So  also  in  this  science  or  profession. 

The  vital  point  is  ability  to  understand  the  soil,  its 
relation  to  air  and  water  and  their  combined  relation 
to  plant  life,  and  the  processes  of  development  of  soil 
fertility,  so  that  the  farmer  may  comprehend  fully  the 
effect  of  various  conditions,  and  the  further  fact  that  he 
himself  can  by  cultivation  control  these  elements;  just 
what,  when  and  how  certain  work  should  be  done,  what 
to  guard  against  and  what  to  encourage,  and  what 
results  to  reasonably  expect. 

The  Manual  must  be  studied  well.  It  would  be  impos- 
sible to  put  into  a  whole  library  detailed  instructions 
as  to  every  phase  of  soil  culture,  adapted  to  every  pos- 
sible condition  that  might  be  encountered;  but  herein  is 
laid  down  general  principles  from  which  the  intelligent 
farmer  can  gain  an  understanding  of  what  should  be  done. 
The  Manual  should  be  studied  every  month  in  the  year, 
and  while  crops  are  growing  it  will  pay  to  consult  it  every 
day. 

To  further  assist  the  student  in  grasping  all  the  many 
principles  and  details  in  scientific  soil  culture  we  have 
prepared  a  correspondence  course  of  twelve  lessons  through 


18  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

which  a  full  understanding  of  all  the  points  may  be  reached. 
There  is  no  subject  today  the  full  knowledge  of  which 
means  so  much  to  the  farmer  as  how  to  get  the  most  out 
of  his  soil,  for  it  is  the  key  to  his  prosperity  and  happiness. 
Anyone  interested  in  a  thorough  course  can  learn  all  par- 
ticulars by  addressing  H.  W.  Campbell,  at  Lincoln,  Nebr. 
There  is  so  much  to  be  made  known  on  the  subject  that 
the  farmer  will  not  be  able  to  get  it  all  in  one  book  or 
in  one  year. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  19 


CHAPTER  III. 

3 

THE  IDEAL  FARMER. 

One  of  the  principles  long  followed  in  educational 
work  is  that  the  man  who  is  well  educated  with  a  mind, 
under  good  discipline,  is  fitted  for  almost  any  sphere  in 
life.  In  recent  years  this  theory  has  received  some  rude 
shocks,  and  school  men  are  finding  out  that  the  man 
who  is  really  educated  is  one  who  has  some  specialty  in 
which  he  is  better  than  others.  Therefore  specialization 
has  become  the  rule  in  schools  and  colleges  and  in  all  walks 
of  life.  The  man  who  tries  to  be  a  good  minister  and  a 
good  lawyer  at  the  same  time  is  no  more  found.  Neither 
do  men  try  to  be  at  once  a  blacksmith,  a  plumber  and  a 
shoemaker. 

So  it  is  in  agriculture — men  have  found  that  it  pays 
to  learn  all  about  the  subject.  Just  because  one  is  schooled 
in  many  books  or  has  been  successful  in  trade  or  a  pro- 
fession is  not  sufficient  to  qualify  him  for  farming.  He 
must  know  his  subject  and  know  it  well.  And  at  the 
basis  of  his  science  lies  knowledge  of  the  soil  and  its  char- 
acter and  possibilities. 

But  the  farmer  must  have  a  well  trained  mind.  He 
must  be  keen,  of  perception  and  broad-minded.  He  must 
be  studious  and  keep  abreast  with  the  times.  He  should 
take  farm  magazines'  and  read  farm  books.  He  ought 
also  to  have  the  daily  papers  at  hand,  and  know  what  is 
going  on  in  the  world.  All  these  things  will  give  him  power 
to  reason.  But  above  all  else,  he  must  have  adaptability. 


20  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

Agriculture  is  a  science  with  new  problems  every  year, 
and  where  conditions  change  the  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples must  change  also.  The  farmer  must  meet  condi- 
tions as  he  finds  them.  With  the  true  principles  well 
grounded  in  him  he  must  be  ready  to  adapt  himself  to  all 
conditions  that  may  come  up. 

The  problem  of  farming  in  what  is  known  as  the  semi- 
arid  region  is  quite  different  from  that  in  the  humid  por- 
tions of  the  country.  The  old  methods  will  not  get  results. 
The  farmer  who  must  readily  adapt  himself  to  this  fact 
will  be  quickest  to  achieve  success.  Farming,  for  instance, 
in  the  lower  portions  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys 
is  comparatively  easy.  The  farmer  has  water  to  waste, 
and  he  does  let  it  go  to  waste.  Of  course  he  would  do 
better  farming  if  he  did  not  waste  his.  water,  or  rather  if 
he  had  it  under  control  perfectly,  as  he  might  have,  but 
in  fact,  he  can  farm  very  well  and  be  indifferent  to  the 
waste  of  water.  Not  so  everywhere. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  men  who  have  been  making 
a  success  of  farm  operations  in  the  region  between  the  hu- 
mid belt  and  the  western  mountains  are  men  capable  of 
working  out  hard  problems.  They  have  actually  been 
engaged  in  solving  these  hard  problems  for  many  years. 
The  early  land  seekers  made  the  mistake  of  trying  to  farm 
as  they  did  in  the  states  where  they  formerly  lived.  The 
later  farmers  profited  by  their  experience.  As  a  result 
ideal  homes  are  springing  up  all  over  the  western  states. 

All  this  may  be  dismissed  as  intelligence  in  farming; 
but  it  is  true  that  there  has  been  entirely  too  much  farm- 
ing done  without  this  intelligence. 

The  ideal  farmer  is  first  of  all  a  student,  then  an  in- 
vestigator, and  finally  a  specialist;  ever  alert  for  new 
things  and  new  ideas,  open-minded  and  free  from  conceit; 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


21 


a  man  familiar  with  what  is  going  on  around  him,  and  yet 
intensely  devoted  to  his  own  work. 

In  order  that  we  may  realize  our  fondest  hopes  as  to 
the  future  of  our  country  our  farmers  must  be  men  who  are 
capable  of  developing  their  industry  to  its  fullest  extent. 


FEASTING  TIME. 
Watermelons  Raised  in  Lincoln  County,  Col.,  by  the  Campbell  System. 

This  ability  must  have  a  scientific  basis.  It  need  not  be 
wrapped  up  in  terms  so  strange  that  the  farm  lad  may 
turn  away  in  despair.  Science  requires  only  words  that 
we  can  all  understand.  But  I  am  sure  that  if  the  young 
men  and  women  of  today  would  throw  away  that  old 
delusive  idea  that  soils  produce  just  in  proportion  to  the 
sunshine  and  rainfall  and  that  these  are  matters  of  chance, 


22  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

and  that  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  has  little  or 
nothing  to  do  with  the  crops,  there  would  be  a  better 
feeling  as  to  the  safeness  and  sureness  of  agriculture.  Then 
the  farmer  should  try  to  comprehend  how  God  has  pro- 
vided the  necessary  elements  for  the  germination  of  the 
seed  and  growth  of  the  plant;  but  it  has  been  left  to  man 
to  discover  what  is  necessary  under  all  conditions  to  de- 
velop the  magnificent  crop  of  cereals  or  to  cause  the  gar- 
dens to  glow  with  the  beauty  of  finest  flowers.  Man 
must  prepare  the  way.  He  must  combine  the  different 
elements  and  give  direction  to  the  forces  of  nature.  It 
is  a  study  worthy  of  the  greatest  minds  of  the  world.  It 
is  a  science  which  the  ideal  farmer  must  know. 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  tendency  in  recent 
years  to  follow  the  cry  of  back  to  the  farms;  but  if  the  na- 
ture of  the  science  were  better  understood  and  men  were 
more  familiar  with  what  has  been  accomplished  and  what 
lies  just  ahead,  I  feel  sure  that  public  sentiment  would 
change  radically  and  that  rural  life  would  be  far  more 
popular  than  it  is  now. 

Scientific  methods  under  the  guiding  hands  of  the 
ideal  farmers  are  rapidly  eliminating  the  drudgery  of 
farm  life.  Our  teachers  in  schools  and  in  literature  are 
not  so  much  teaching  a  way  to  avoid  work  as  they  are 
showing  how  more  can  be  accomplished  with  a  given 
amount  of  work.  It  is  being  shown  how  larger  crops  and 
surer  crops  are  to  be  garnered.  The  men  and  women  of 
the  farm  are  being  awakened  to  the  fact  that  they  are  not 
mere  toilers,  but  important  factors  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world.  It  is  open  to  them  to  make  real  progress,  for  if 
they  do  all  that  they  should  they  will  discover  methods 
of  improvement,  and  by  their  investigations  show  the  way 
to  better  methods  for  the  production  of  crops. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  23 

More  and  more  it  is  becoming  recognized  everywhere 
that  farming  is  the  one  business  that  all  others  depend 
upon.  No  other  business  or  profession  is  so  important 
from  a  material  standpoint.  It  supplies  that  from  which 
all  other  development  proceeds.  But  it  is  not  what  it 
once  was.  It  is  not  an  incidental  calling.  It  is  the  bus- 
iness of  millions  of  the  very  best  of  the  people 
of  the  earth.  These  people  have  a  broader  outlook  and 
are  facing  greater  possibilities  than  ever  before. 

The  tendency  is  now  as  it  must  ever  be  to  the  small 
farm  as  against  the  "bonanza  farm,"  which  has  so  much 
characterized  the  newer  portions  of  the  United  States, 
The  abolition  of  the  bonanza  farm,  which  is  inevitable, 
will  change  the  whole  feeling  toward  farm  life.  The  small 
farmer  is  the  one  who  gets  the  most  out  of  his  work.  He 
is  the  one  who  develops.  He  will  follow  the  more  inten- 
sive system  of  farming.  He  will  do  the  most  to  develop 
his  state  and  country. 

And  the  small  farmer  is  the  one  who  makes  his  farm 
his  home.  He  seeks  comfort  for  himself  and  his  children. 
He  does  not  build  a  shed  to  shelter  him  during  the  crop 
season  with  his  family  miles  away.  He  becomes  a  per- 
manent fixture  in  his  country.  He  builds  good  houses 
and  barns,  he  gets  the  best  cattle  and  horses  and  hogs, 
he  has  a  garden  of  flowers  and  he  plants  trees.  He  wants 
the  school  house  to  be  located  not  far  away  and  he  wil- 
lingly taxes  himself  for  support  of  the  school.  He  con- 
tributes to  the  erection  of  a  church  in  the  village  and  he 
is  careful  that  the  rural  route  and  the  co-operative  tele- 
phone do  not  pass  him  by. 

The  ideal  farmer  makes  the  ideal  farm,  and  in  tun? 
there  is  compensation  quite  enough. 


24  CAMPBELJL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  IV. 


BASIS  OF   PROSPERITY. 

Prosperity  is  a  sort  of  endless  chain.  The  dollar  goes 
round  on  a  debt-paying  tour  and  everybody  is  happy.  If 
the  dollar  stops  somewhere  along  the  line  then  everybody 
is  gloomy. 

If  you  set  out  to  explain  this  and  devise  a  chain  for 
the  dollar  to  follow  in  its  rounds,  you  will  invariably  in- 
clude the  farmer  somewhere  in  the  circle.  If  you  begin 
with  the  grocer  then  you  will  go  on  to  the  miller  or  the 
baker  or  the  packer,  and  soon  back  to  the  farmer.  You 
may  begin  with  the  lawyer  and  his  fee  in  court,  or  the 
minister  and  the  contribution  box,  or  start  down  in  the 
"pit"  of  the  stock  exchange  where  gambling  goes  on  daily 
— -but  you  will  always  follow  back  to  the  farmer  if  you 
go  long  enough. 

The  farmer  himself  is  a  consumer  as  well  as  a  producer. 
The  farmer  is  always  buying  something.  He  seldom 
hoards  up  the  money  he  gets  from  his  sales  of  grain  or 
steers.  The  farmer  is  a  consumer  of  manufactured  goods, 
and  when  he  has  money  in  abundance  he  buys  freely  of 
the  things  which  are  made  in  factories.  Finally  the 
circle  is  completed,  and  the  money  comes  back  to  him 
in  purchase  of  more  of  the  farm  products. 

If  the  farmer  is  prosperous  then  he  is  a  buyer.  But 
the  farmer  more  than  any  other  person  on  earth  can  get 
along  fairly  well  for  a  time  without  any  general  buying 
if  he  is  compelled  to  do  so.  He  can  and  does  economize 


CAMPBOLL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


25 


more  than  others  when  his  bank  account  is  low.  And 
so  when  conditions  are  such  that  men  begin  to  retrench 
in  expenses  the  farmer  is  one  of  the  first  to  do  so,  and  soon 
the  chain  of  prosperity  is  broken  at  avital  spot.  In  like 


CORN  IN  COLORADO. 
Grown  Ninety  Miles  East  of  Denver  in  1906  by  the  Campbell  Method. 

manner  it  is  certain  that  as  long  as  the  farmer  is  spending 
money  freely  then  others  will  have  something  with  which 
to  buy  things  or  to  pay  debts.  The  farmer's  good  times 
means  good  times  for  everybody. 

Now  the  farmer  is  prosperous  just  as  he  has  abundance 


26 

of  crops  of  all  kinds.  It  matters  not  that  the  gold  pro- 
duction is  becoming  greater  each  year  and  prices  are 
advancing  steadily,  unless  we  are  to  have  good  results 
from  agricultural  operations.  Nobody  cares  about  high 
prices  unless  there  is  something  to  sell.  We  have  here 
in  the  United  States  an  era  of  great  prosperity  simply 
because  there  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  a  steady 
increase  in  farm  production,  not  a  spurt  one  year  and 
a  failure  the  next,  but  continuing  good  crops  over  large 
areas  of  the  country. 

This  is  the  true  basis  of  prosperity.  It  is  therefore 
of  real  interest  to  men  in  every  walk  of  life  to  do  all  that 
is  in  their  power  to  have  continuance  of  the  success  of 
the  farmers.  Therefore  the  business  or  professional  man 
helps  himself  indirectly  when  he  in  any  manner  aids  or 
prompts  the  farmer  to  gain  a  better  knowledge  of  his  soils 
and  scientific  soil  culture. 

It  used  to  be  said,  and  with  much  truth,  that  the 
great  safety  valve  for  the  whole  economic  system  of  the 
United  States  was  the  free  homes  of  the  West.  When- 
ever industrial  conditions  became  unsatisfactory  in  the 
manufacturing  centers  the  surplus  labor  was  shunted 
off  to  the  free  or  cheap  land  of  the  west.  Now,  that 
this  practically  free  land  is  no  longer  obtainable,  the  same 
effect  comes  through  increase  in  the  producing  power  of 
the  farms  already  occupied.  The  farmer  cannot  cure 
his  dissatisfaction  by  turning  quickly  to  unoccupied  land; 
he  can  increase  his  product  and  output  by  applying  better 
methods  to  his  farming  operations. 

Few  people  realize  how  this  process  of  getting  more 
out  of  the  soil  by  means  of  scientific  farming  has  been 
developed  in  recent  years,  especially  in  the  middle  and 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  27 

western  states;  much  less  do  they  realize  what  an  import- 
ant factor  this  has  been  in  furthering  the  immense  ex- 
pansion of  business  in  our  history. 

It  is  no  small  matter  to  effect  a  change  so  that  on  a 
million  acres  of  farm  land  the  yield  of  grain  is  doubled 
in  quantity.  The  farmer  who  is  contented  with  15  bushels 
of  wheat  per  acre  when  he  gets  a  crop,  and  counts  on 
missing  a  few  seasons  because,  as  he  thinks,  the  "luck 
of  the  weather"  was  against  him,  immediately  becomes  a 
man  of  much  more  importance  to  himself  and  the  com- 
munity when  he  discovers  that  he  can  get  30  to  40  bushels 
of  wheat  every  year  on  the  same  land  by  application  of 
a  little  science  under  modern  methods.  This  is  just  what 
has  been  taking  place  in  recent  years,  especially  in  that 
section  of  our  country  once  set  down  as  of  little  value 
for  farming,  but  now  recognized  as  our  choicest  region. 

Because  of  this  development  upon  these  western  farms, 
because  of  the  application  of  scientific  farming,  because 
of  the  steady  increase  in  the  output  of  the  farms,  there 
has  come  to  our  country  unexampled  prosperity  in  every 
line.  The  towns  are  growing,  the  cities  are  expanding, 
railroad  lines  are  being  built,  the  banks  are  busy,  the  mer- 
chants are  doing  well,  the  factories  are  running  over-time, 
the  workingmen  are  getting  better  wages,  everybody  is 
better  and  happier.  The  problem  of  maintaining  this 
prosperity  which  so  much  delights  us  all  is,  therefore, 
not  one  related  to  the  kind  of  currency  we  have,  the  pay- 
ing of  bounties  to  ship  owners,  or  to  the  treatment  of  the 
tariff;  but  that  of  maintaining  a  steady  average  of  prof- 
itable crop  production. 

The  student  of  social  economics  must  fail  entirely  who 
underestimates  the  importance  of  scientific  soil  culture  in 
the  creation  and  maintenance  of  our  prosperity. 


28  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  V. 

SMALL  FARMS;   BETTER  FARMING. 

The  struggle  to  get  that  which  will  sustain  life  in 
quantities  sufficient  to  always  satisfy  all  the  people  has 
been  going  on  since  the  garden  of  Eden  ceased  to  yield 
of  its  fruit  an  over-supply.  It  seems  that  there  will  never 
be  enough  of  the  good  things  of  life.  There  can  never 
be  permanently  any  too  great  production  of  the  things 
which  come  from  the  soil  to  supply  the  needs  of  man. 
The  cry  is  ever  for  more. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  nave  been  favored 
for  the  century  and  a  quarter  of  national  existence  by 
the  fact  of  their  always  having  near  at  hand  a  vast  supply 
of  cheap  unoccupied  land,  so  that  when  production  fell 
below  requirements  some  men  could  move  out  upon  the 
unused  land  and  rapidly  increase  production  by  expan- 
sion of  the  agricultural  area.  The  statisticians  of  the 
states  have  done  much  boasting  of  how  the  production 
of  their  states  has  increased;  but  this  increase  has  gener- 
ally been  because  of  the  enlarged  area  under  cultivation. 

But  the  cheap  land  is  about  all  taken.  Attention  is 
turned  properly  to  the  problem  of  how  to  get  more  out 
of  the  land  already  under  cultivation.  Here  is  a  great 
corn  state  and  a  group  of  men  conceive  the  idea  that  the 
average  yield  per  acre  of  corn  can  be  increased  from  30 
to  40  bushels  or  perhaps  more.  Great  idea,  and  the  peo- 
ple are  delighted  with  the  missionary  work  thus  done. 
Another  learns  of  a  new  variety  of  wheat  more  productive 
than  any  other  and  he  is  hailed  as  a  great  benefactor. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


29 


It  is  the  same  everywhere.  The  acres  which  lie  in 
the  so-called  semi-arid  belt  have  been  utilized  for  grazing 
and  they  are  yet  our  cheapest  land.  With  the  westward 
tide  turned  back  from  the  coast  and  mountains,  it  has 


CAMPBELL  SYSTEM  VEGETABLES. 

Raised  without  Irrigation  by  Mr.  Rice,  ninety  miles  east  of  Denver, 
on  Kansas  Pacific,  first  season's  crop. 

become  necessary  that  something  be  done  to  make  these 
cheap  acres  yield  more.  And  happily  that  something  is 
being  done.  The  intelligent  tilling  of  the  soil  on  the  dry 
prairies  is  enabling  these  farmers  to  double  their  crops. 


30  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

Instead  of  7  to  10  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  they  are 
getting  30  to  40,  and  getting  it  every  year.  Corn 
and  hay  yield  in  corresponding  amounts. 

The  result  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  opening  up 
new  land  and  increasing  the  acreage  under  cultivation. 
It  is  all  that  is  left  for  the  American  farmer.  He  must 
farm  better  and  get  larger  crops  or  admit  that  he  has 
reached  the  limit  of  his  productive  capacity. 

The  profit  of  the  average  western  farm  is  not  half 
what  it  should  be  or  could  be  if  the  farmer  would  utilize 
all  present  available  knowledge.  Our  farming  methods 
compare  unfavorably  with  those  of  other  countries.  Com- 
pared with  the  amount  of  land  under  cultivation,  we  do 
not  use  a  sufficient  number  of  teams,  nor  employ  enough 
labor,  nor  have  the  necessary  equipment.  The  estimated 
average  value  per  acre  of  machinery,  teams,  buildings  and 
appliances  in  various  countries  is  as  follows: 

In  the  United  States $  9 . 00 

In  England 40.00 

In  Germany .from  $50  to  100.00 

The  total  is  governed  to  some  extent  by  the  special 
farming  followed. 

The  returns  per  acre  from  land  in  these  three  countries 
show  even  a  wider  difference.  The  United  States  has  soil 
equally  good  and  much  of  it  even  better  than  in  the  other 
countries  named,  yet  the  wheat  crop  averages  a  little 
over  14  bushels  per  acre  for  the  whole  country,  while 
England  averages  32  bushels  and  Germany  33J  bushels 
per  acre. 

The  difference  is  largely  due  to  the  more  scientific 
methods  of  farming  in  the  old  world* 

The   western   farmer  should  look   carefully   into   this 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  31 

methods  of  farming,  and  especially  make  a  study  of  soil 
culture,  and  determine  for  himself  by  intelligent  reason- 
ing, if  he  can  not  easily  double  his  crop  yield. 

In  the  past  few  years  prosperity  has  abounded.  There 
is  no  question  as  to  the  close  relationship  between  general 
prosperity  and  the  steady  production  of  the  farms.  When 
there  is  an  abundance  of  farm  produce  going  into  the 
markets  of  the  world  all  business  thrives.  That  in  the 
United  States  this  constant  prosperity  covering  a  period 
of  years  has  been  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  farmers 
have  been  successful  in  their  efforts  to  greatly  increase 
the  per  acre  yield  of  their  land  is  also  beyond  any  question. 

Every  farmer  should  consider  what  it  means  to  him 
individually  to  double  his  crops.  He  should  also  consider 
how  important  it  is  to  make  sure  of  good  crops  no  matter 
what  the  conditions  may  be.  This  is  what  scientific  soil 
culture  does. 

But  we  can  never  have  much  better  farming  until 
farmers  content  themselves  with  fewer  acres  for  each  one. 
There  has  been  all  too  much  spreading  out  so  that  one 
man  tills,  or  directs  the  tillage,  of  many  thousands  of 
acres.  Land  greed  has  been  the  curse  of  farming.  The 
farmer  can  no  more  do  his  best  while  trying  to  cultivate 
a  thousand  acres  than  by  confining  himself  to  a  two-acre 
lot.  He  must  have  enough,  but  not  too  much. 

Better  farming  means  better  farms,  more  comfortable 
farm  homes,  happier  farm  families,  better  citizenship, 
more  nearly  the  ideal  simple  life. 


32 


CHAPTER  VI. 


A  LOOK  INTO  THE  FUTURE. 

Spread  before  you  a  map  of  the  United  States,  one  of 
the  old  kind  common  to  the  geographies  of  thirty  to  fifty 
years  ago.  You  may  have  to  brush  the  dust  from  its 
faded  surface  if  you  find  one  such.  Perhaps  you  can  con- 
jure it  up  in  your  mind.  On  such  a  map  you  will  recall 
that  there  were  large  regions  marked  "great  forests;" 
then  other  areas  indicated  as  "high  plateaus;"  and  others 
where  the  dotted  surface  indicated  a  desert  just  like  that 
in  northern  Africa.  Then  the  portions  which  the  map 
makers  regarded  as  strictly  good  were  marked  with  innu- 
merable rivers  and  lakes. 

Compare  this  with  a  good  railroad  map  of  today  which 
can  be  gotten  from  any  first  class  agent.  Note  how  the 
forest  regions  bave  disappeared,  and  how  seldom  is  there 
anything  to  indicate  a  high  plateau.  The  mountain  re- 
gions seem  to  have  shrunk.  And,  behold!  the  fabled 
deserts  have  disappeared  entirely. 

But  the  transcontinental  lines  of  railway  have  long 
stretches  with  few  stations,  indicating  that  in  some  por- 
tions of  the  country  the  population  is  small.  All  this 
is  being  gradually  changed,  yet  the  area  of  small  popula- 
tion is  still  very  large. 

The  semi-arid  region  of  the  United  States  lies  west 
of  the  Missouri  river,  presenting  first  an  irregular  strip 
extending  from  the  Canada  line  to  Texas,  through  por- 
tions of  the  Dakotas,  Montana,  Wyoming,  Nebraska, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  33 

Colorado,  Oklahoma  and  New  Mexico;  then  having  sec- 
tions surrounding  the  Rocky  mountains  and  the  Coast 
ranges,  including  large  areas  of  Idaho,  Washington,  Ore- 
gon, Utah,  Arizona  and  California.  Here  is  almost  a 
third  of  the  United  States  where  the  rainfall  is  from  10 
to  20  inches  annually,  where  in  many  places  farming  by 
the  old  methods  has  proved  a  failure.  This  is  the  semi- 
arid  region  about  which  so  much  has  been  said.  It  is 
the  dream  of  the  irrigationist  to  "reclaim"  large  portions 
of  this  country.  It  has  been  the  hope  of  the  herdsman 
that  much  of  it  would  ever  remain  public  land  that  he 
might  continue  his  grazing  of  large  herds. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  the  soil  of 
this  region  is  of  a  texture  admirably  adapted  to  the  best 
farming.  The  fact  of  the  small  precipitation  has  been 
the  sole  reason  for  the  failure  to  develop  this  region.  For 
many  years  it  was  believed  that  this  was  in  fact  a  desert 
region.  The  gold  seekers  who  followed  the  trails  across 
the  plains  sent  back  word  that  the  climate  was  such  that 
this  must  ever  be  a  worthless  land.  But  as  the  years 
wore  on,  here  and  there  a  farmer  tried  to  do  more  than 
herd  his  cattle  and  sheep  on  the  short  grass.  A  few  suc- 
cesses were  recorded  amid  many  failures.  But  the  slow 
plodding  farmer  has  a  way  of  winning  success  despite  all 
theories,  and  today,  all  through  this  semi-arid  region  are 
to  be  found  scattered  farms  where  men  have  accomplished 
a  great  deal  for  themselves.  The  soil  is,  in  fact,  fine  and 
rich,  of  loose  texture,  and  generally  free  from  objection- 
able traits. 

It  has  been  abundantly  demonstrated  that  if  farming 
operations  are  carried  on  in  this  region  under  scientific 
soil  culture,  if  care  is  taken  to  conserve  the  moisture  and 
not  to  waste  it,  if  the  soil  is  so  treated  that  its  fertility 


34  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

will  be  made  available,  if  there  is  plowing  and  packing  and 
seeding  and  cultivation  suited  to  the  conditions  as  they 
exist  in  this  vast  region — then  crops  are  large  and  sure, 
and  farming  becomes  akin  to  an  exact  science. 

And  this  can  be  done — is  being  done — will  be  done  by 
millions  where  it  is  done  by  only  a  few  today. 

A  few  years  hence  and  the  so-called  "plains"  or  "Great 
American  desert"  of  the  map  makers  will  be  dotted  with 


MONTANA  WHEAT. 

Wheat  Crop  of  Thirty  Bushels,  Fifteen  Miles  South  of  Great  Falls, 
Montana,  Grown  without  Irrigatiou. 

splendid  farm  houses  and  great  red  barns.  There  will 
t3  rows  of  trees  for  wind-breaks  and  shade.  There  will 
be  orchards  and  gardens.  The  great  fields  will  be  tilled 
by  the  very  best  of  modern  machinery.  Steam  and  electric- 
ity will  largely  take  the  place  of  horse  power  in  the  heav- 


CAMBPELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  35 

iest  work,  for  this  is  possible  here  much  more  than  in  the 
cramped  fields  of  the  older  states.  Plowing  and  seeding 
and  harvesting  will  all  be  done  much  more  quickly  and 
better  than  ever  before.  There  are  few  obstacles  to  good 
work.  There  are  no  boulders  to  break  the  plowshare 
and  no  stumps  to  bend  the  sickle.  It  is  a  country  admir- 
ably adapted  to  the  ideal  farming.  And  the  men  who  go 
out  to  conquer  this  desert  land  and  to  compel  success 
under  adverse  conditions  are  just  the  men  to  build  up 
ideal  homes. 

It  is  in  this  vast  region  that  railroad  building  is  going 
on  now  more  rapidly  than  any  place  else  in  the  world. 
Nothing  could  be  more  significant.  Men  who  invest  their 
millions  in  railroad  enterprises  do  not  do  so  without  con- 
sideration of  what  it  means.  A  few  years  ago  the  railroad 
managers  declared  that  if  they  could  do  so,  they  would 
pull  up  some  of  the  tracks  they  had  laid  in  this  coun- 
try; and  today  these  same  tracks  mark  the  pathway  of 
immense  commerce.  Because  there  were  failures  due  to 
misdirected  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  farmers  is  not  proof 
that  the  country  is  useless.  On  the  contrary  it  has  been 
demonstrated,  and  this  is  better  known  by  the  railroad 
builders  than  by  any  others,  that  the  semi-arid  region 
is  destined  to  be  in  a  few  years  the  richest  portion  of  the 
United  States. 

Looking  far  into  the  future  one  may  see  this  region 
dotted  with  fine  farms,  with  countless  herds  of  blooded 
animals  grazing,  with  school  houses  in  every  township, 
with  branch  lines  of  railroads,  with  electric  interurban 
trolly  lines  running  in  a  thousand  directions,  with  tele- 
phone systems  innumerable,  with  rural  mail  routes  reach- 


36  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

ing  to  every  door.  It  is  coming  just  as  sure  as  the  coming 
of  another  century.  The  key  has  been  found  and  the 
door  to  the  riches  has  been  unlocked. 

How  many  millions  will  be  supported  upon  this  region? 
Nobody  knows.  But  the  day  will  come  when  those  who 
tell  of  the  hesitancy  of  their  forefathers  about  trying  to 
subdue  this  region  will  have  to  modify  the  truth  if  they 
are  to  be  believed. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  37 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  DISK  HARROW. 

There  is  no  tool  the  farmer  can  own  that  can  be  used 
in  as  many  ways  and  under  as  many  different  conditions, 
and  turn  him  as  much  profit  if  judiciously  operated,  as 
the  Disk  Harrow.  It  can  be  used  to  great  advantage 
when  the  plow  could  not  be  used. 

It  is  not,  however,  a  tool  that  can  take  the  place  of 
the  plow  and  secure  anything  like  fair  returns,  except  in 
exceedingly  favorable  seasons  when  rainfall  is  ideal  and 
opportune. 

Thousands  of  acres  of  wheat  have  been  put  in  with  a 
disk  drill,  or  by  disking  the  ground  and  then  drilling, 
much  of  which  was  never  cut,  and  a  still  larger  percent 
never  paid  the  expense  of  growing. 

Since  spending  so  much  time  in  scientific  research  of 
the  soils  and  the  implements  with  which  to  till  the  soils, 
we  have  become  very  much  interested  in  the  disk  harrow 
and  its  great  scope  of  usefulness. 

The  great  value  of  the  disk  harrow  lies  in  its  adapta- 
bility to  the  protection  of  moisture,  the  preparation  of 
the  surface  soil  for  the  encouragement  of  rapid  percolation 
of  the  rain  water,  and  in  thoroughly  pulverizing  a  some- 
what cloddy  plowed  field  and  getting  an  improved  phys- 
ical or  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil.  It  has  been 
used  on  thousands  of  acres  instead  of  plowing,  when  it 
should  have  been  used  to  precede  the  plow.  We  have 
quoted,  under  the  heads  of  "Evaporation"  and  "Culti- 


38  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

vation,"  instances  where  the  early  use  of  the  disk  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  preventing  evaporation  and  preparing  the 
surface  to  receive  and  utilize  further  rains,  has  resulted 
in  giving  the  farmer  increased  yields  of  corn  as  high  as 
twenty  bushels  to  the  acre.  Think  of  twenty  bushels  of 
corn  per  acre  for  only  forty  cents  of  extra  expense.  In 
the  handling  of  fields  for  summer  culture  there  is  no  tool 
that  can  take  the  place  of  the  disk  harrow,  cost  of  labor 
and  value  of  work  considered;  and  while  it  is  not  a  tool 
that  can  be  continuously  used,  we  do  not  see  how  a  man 
can  successfully  handle  an  orchard  without  it.  The  disk 
harrow  may  be  used  to  prepare  a  field  for  a  crop,  and 
in  connection  with  the  plow,  its  work  is  most  valuable. 
The  complete  pulverizing  and  thorough  separating  of  the 
particles  one  from  another  in  its  rotating  action,  when 
proper  diameter  of  disk  is  used,  is  perfect. 

WHEN    TO    USE    THE    DISK. 

We  most  urgently  advise  the  use  of  the  disk  early 
in  the  spring  on  all  stubble  ground  or  old  fields  intended 
for  spring  crops.  The  value  of  this  early  work  with  the 
disk  is  inestimable,  and  the  more  arid  the  condition,  the 
greater  the  value  of  its  early  use.  No  time  should  be 
lost  after  the  soil  has  become  sufficiently  thawed  and  dry 
so  that  it  will  not  stick  to  the  disk.  For  best  results 
double  disk  the  ground  by  lapping  one-half,  the  object 
being  to  thoroughly  pulverize  and  loosen  the  surface  for 
a  two-fold  purpose.  To  loosen  and  form  a  soil  mulch  to 
prevent  the  loss  of  moisture  by  evaporation  as  well  as 
to  break  the  hard  crusted  surface  to  promote  a  more  rapid 
and  complete  percolation  or  soaking  into  the  soil  below 
of  the  early  spring  rains. 

In  addition  to  the  subject  of  conserving  and  more 
effectually  storing  the  moisture,  is  another  question  not 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


39 


commonly  considered,  but  of  equal  importance — that  of 
the  more  ready  admission  of  the  air  which  is  in  two  ways 
very  advantageous,  that  of  more  quickly  warming  the  soil 
and  promoting  a  more  ready  chemical  action  necessary 
to  the  development  of  fertility. 

THE    DISK    AFTER    HARVEST. 

In  still  another  season  of  the  year  we  find   the  disk  of 
equal   value,  that  is  immediately  after  the  small  grain 


Following  Harvester  with  the  Disk,  a  very  profitable  part  of  the 
Campbell  system. 

or  any  other  crop  is  removed.  It  is  advised  whenever 
possible  to  follow  behind  the  harvester  and  not  allow 
the  soil  to  be  exposed  a  single  day  to  the  sun's  rays  after 


40 


the  crop  is  gathered.  It  is  very  difficult  to  explain  the 
value  and  importance  of  this  work  in  sufficiently  strong 
terms  to  permit  the  reader  to  grasp  its  full  force  and 
meaning.  We  will  endeavor  to  give  it  in  six  reasons. 

First:  There  is  no  time  in  the  year  when  water  held 
in  the  soil  near  the  surface  in  sufficient  quantities,  will 
bring  about  so  many  valuable  chemical  changes  as  during 
the  months  of  July  and  August.  This  is  the  season  of 
the  year  when  a  vast  amount  of  nitrates  and  bacteria 
may  be  developed,  in  other  words,  the  fertility,  the  very 
elements  that  start  your  wheat  off  early  in  the  fall  with 
that  dark  green  color,  and  has  very  much  to  do  with  its 
stooling,  providing,  however,  your  final  work  of  fitting 
your  seed  bed  is  carried  out  as  explained  under  " plowing" 
and  "sub-packing." 

The  fact  that  the  farmer  loses  sight  of  the  real  scien- 
tific or  necessary  physical  condition  of  the  soil  in  the 
plowing  of  his  field  for  another  crop,  accounts  for  the 
failure  of  so  many  plowed  fields  to  yield  as  much  in  dry 
seasons  as  fields  that  were  simply  put  in  with  a  disk  drill 
and  not  plowed.  How  often  have  we  heard  farmers 
say:  "I  plowed  my  ground  and  fitted  it  thoroughly,  and 
my  neighbor  hogged  his  wheat  in  with  a  disk  and  got  a 
better  crop  than  I  did."  In  fact  the  man  with  the  disk 
had  produced  a  more- scientific  condition  of  the  soil. 

Second:  If  there  is  any  moisture  in  the  soil  below, 
by  preparing  this  fine  mulch  of  a  liberal  thickness  this 
moisture  will  accumulate  in  the  firm  soil  just  beneath. 
If  no  more  rains  come,  your  ground  is  in  perfect  condition 
to  plow  because  of  the  moisture  you  have  retained  by 
the  early  disking. 

Third:  If  you  do  not  wish  to  plow  in  the  fall  this 
moisture  can  be  carried  over  until  the  next  spring,  when 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  41 

in  case  of  a  dry  spring  your  soil,  if  properly  handled,  as 
I  will  outline  later,  can  be  planted,  and  the  seed  will  im- 
mediately germinate  and  grow,  while  your  neighbor  is 
worrying  about  a  dry  country  and  may  harvest  nothing. 
Fourth:  Sometimes  you  may  have  teams  and  time 
to  do  some  fall  plowing  for  spring  crops.  If  your  soil  is 
dry  it  is  folly  to  plow,  but  if  you  have  held  the  moisture 
in  the  soil,  it  is  wise  to  fall-plow,  providing  you  follow  the 
plow  with  the  sub-surface  packer,  firming  the  lower  por- 
tion of  the  furrow  slice  while  the  soil  is  still  moist,  holding 
the  moisture  below  instead  of  allowing  the  furrow  to  dry 
out,  as  it  will,  if  left  loose  by  the  plow. 

DO    NOT    GAMBLE. 

Some  say  that  with  early  plowing  the  rains  will  pack 
it,  and  you  don't  need  the  Sub-Surface  Packer.  If  you 
want  to  gamble  the  price  of  a  good  crop  that  it  will  rain 
enough  in  the  fall  to  do  the  necessary  packing,  then  all 
right.  However,  let  us  consider  one  fact.  How  would 
you  have  come  out  in  the  fall  of  1903  in  western  Kansas 
and  Nebraska,  the  Panhandle  of  Texas,  and  all  eastern 
Colorado,  with  practically  no  rain  for  eight  months,  from 
late  August  to  early  May,  1904?  Just  as  a  great  many  did 
come  out.  Better  follow  business  principles  and  be  sure. 
Gambling  wins  sometimes,  but  you  can  never  bank  on  it. 

Fifth:  In  case  you  wish  to  sow  fall  wheat  this  early 
disking  may  mean  ten  to  thirty  bushels  more  per  acre. 
By  holding  the  moisture  as  shown  above,  it  will  be  seen 
that  any  subsequent  rain  will  percolate  more  quickly  and 
deeper.  If  the  rain  be  a  heavy  one,  sufficient  to  dissolve 
and  pack  the  loosened  surface,  the  harrow  should  be  thor- 
oughly used  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  dry  enough  not  to  stick, 
and  by  all  means  wait  r»o  longer.  When  you  are  ready  to 
plow  for  fall  wheat  your  soil  is  moist.  By  following  the 


42  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

plow  with  the  packer,  and  the  packer  with  the  harrow, 
you  will  have  a  fine,  firm,  moist  seedbed  and  your  wheat 
will  come  up,  stool  and  grow  rapidly,  and  you  need  have 
no  fears  of  winter  killing  if  the  seed  bed  is  in  proper  condi- 
tion. 

Sixth:  In  our  last  is  found  the  most  important  fact  of  all, 
namely,  that  of  having  your  ground  in  condition  to  carry 
your  crop  through  any  spring  drouth  that  has  ever  yet 
occurred,  with  a  sure  good  stand  of  wheat,  and  an  early 
rapid  growth. 

SIZE    OF    THE    DISK    TO    USE. 

When  disk  harrows  first  came  in  use  the  common 
size  was  fourteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  this  size  we  still 
prefer,  but  the  demand  seems  to  be  for  larger  disks,  the 
farmer's  conceiving  the  idea  that  they  draw  lighter.  While 
this  is  true,  the  pulverizing  effect  of  the  sixteen-inch  is 
not  so  good  as  the  fourteen,  the  eighteen-inch  even  less, 
and  a  twenty-inch  we  would  not  have  on  a  farm.  Just 
a  moment's  thought  on  this  point,  and  you  will  readily 
see  the  reason 

The  larger  the  disk  the  slower  it  revolves,  consequently 
the  pulverizing  effect  is  decreased  as  the  size  of  the  disk 
is  increased.  I  have  noticed  twenty-inch  disks  rolling 
along  when  the  ground  was  somewhat  dry,  and  simply 
slice  the  soil,  raising  it  up  a  little  and  letting  it  fall  back 
in  large  clods  in  exactly  the  same  position  it  was  before 
the  disk  passed  over.  The  process  simply  made  little 
crevices  and  actually  increased  the  evaporation  of  moist- 
ure instead  of  decreasing  it.  A  fourteen-inch  disk  moving 
along  at  the  same  rate  of  speed  would  revolve  faster, 
therefore,  pulverize  and  completelv  reverse  the  soil.  Don't 
buy  a  disk  too  large  in  diameter. 


CAMPBELL-S   SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL  43 

Always  double  disk  by  lapping  one-half.  This  leaves 
the  surface  level  if  you  drive  so  the  outside  disk  will  just 
fill  the  furrow  left  by  the  center  of  the  disk  just  preceding. 
Keep  tbe  disk  sharp.  It  pays.  Buy  as  broad  a  disk  as  you 
have  horses  to  draw.  Time  is  money.  Always  precede 
your  plowing  by  thoroughly  disking.  It  helps  materially 
in  obtaining  a  fine,  firm  root  bed.  New  and  improved 
disk  harrows  are  the  next  thing  in  order,, 


44  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


PLOWING. 

In  outlining'  a  general  plan  for  the  preparation  of  our 
fields  for  the  best  possible  results  in  crop  growing  and 
grain  yields,  the  plow  takes  first  place  as  the  all-important 
tool.  The  kind  of  plow  used  is  not  so  vital  as  the  how 
it  is  used,  and  what  the  condition  of  the  soil  is  or  should 
be  when  used. 

Many  have  attempted  to  fix  the  time  when  the  plow- 
ing should  be  done,  whether  early  or  late,  fall  or  spring, 
in  regard  to  which  we  would  assert  that  there  can  be  no 
fixed  rule  for  time  or  depth  of  plowing.  For  the  purpose 
of  securing  the  best  results  the  farmer  must  first  take  the 
precaution  to  prepare  the  field  for  plowing  as  outlined 
in  the  chapter  headed  "The  Disk  Harrow." 

Many  experiments  have  been  conducted  by  the  various 
agricultural  colleges  along  the  lines  of  determining  a  fixed 
rule  for  plowing,  but  the  wide  difference  in  results  one  year 
with  another,  when  the  attempts  have  been  made  to  plow 
the  same  time  of  year  or  the  same  depth,  shows  conclusively 
that  the  simple  fact  of  plowing  three,  four,  six  or  eight 
inches  deep  each  year,  or  plowing  spring  or  fall,  late  or 
early,  means  but  little,  and  the  results  shown  cannot  be 
taken  as  any  guide  whatever  unless  we  consider  the 
condition  of  the  soil  .  when  the  plowing  is  done, 
and  what  tillage  has  been  done  before  plowing.  If  these 
questions  are  not  considered,  then  the  final  result  of  the 
experimental  crop  is  governed  more  by  the  soil  condition 


CAMPBELL'S   SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL  45 

at  the  time  of  plowing,  and  the  climatic  conditions  before 
and  after  plowing  than  by  the  absolute  depth  or  time  of 
plowing. 

We  desire  to  call  attention  to  these  facts  on  the  start, 
that  we  may  prepare  the  student  to  more  fully  grasp  the 
real  scientific  principles 

SPRING    PLOWING    OLD    LAND. 

The  first  and  all-important  work  is  the  early  double- 
disking  as  explained  in  the  preceding  chapter.  It  is 
nothing  uncommon  to  see  farmers  double-disk  by  first 
going  over  the  ground  one  way  and  then  cross-disk  it. 
This  is  not  correct,  for  it  results  in  a  series  of  ridges  and 
trenches,  leaving  the  surface  very  uneven.  The  trenches 
left  by  the  center  of  the  disk  each  way  over  the  field,  ex- 
poses the  solid  soil  in  the  bottom  to  the  direct  rays  of  the 
sun,  causing  an  enormous  evaporation  resulting  in  a  thick 
hard  crust  which  breaks  into  coarse  clods  when  plowed. 
The  proper  manner  of  double-disking  is  to  lap  half,  which 
leaves  the  surface  smooth  and  thoroughly  pulverized. 
In  the  lapping  of  the  half  of  the  disk  the  last  time  over, 
the  last  disks  revolve  at  right  angles  with  the  disks  that 
precede.  We  cannot  put  too  much  stress  upon  this  part 
of  the  proper  preparation  of  the  soils.  Bearing  in  mind 
that  the  all-important  element  for  the  successful  growth 
of  our  crops  is  water,  we  must  lose  no  opportunity  of 
conserving  and  storing  the  water  from  the  earliest  part 
of  the  spring  to  late  in  the  fall. 

WHEN    TO    PLOW. 

Evaporation  and  percolation  are  more  fully  explained 
in  chapters  to  follow.  After  thoroughly  pulverizing  the 
surface  to  stop  the  evaporation  we  can  do  our  plowing 
a  little  later,  regardless  of  the  climatic  conditions  which 
may  exist,  and  we  shall  find  the  soil  in  a  moist  condition. 


CAMPBELL'S   SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL 

It  i;  very  important  that  much  care  and  attention  be 
given  to  the  condition  of  the  ground  at  the  time  the  plow- 
ing is  done.  Land  should  not  be  plowed  when  in  bad 
physical  condition,  for  good  physical  conditions  are  very 
necessary  for  an  abundance  of  available  plant  food.  This 
cannot  be  obtained  in  the  seed  and  root  bed  unless  this 


Cut  No.  1.     Showing  Soil  as  the  Plow  Leaves  It. 

point  is  given  careful  attention.  Devote  special  study 
to  what  we  say  with  reference  to  the  physical  condition 
of  the  soil.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  subjects  in 
connection  with  the  chapter  on  the  water  holding  capacity 
of  the  soil. 


CAMPBELL  S    SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL 


47 


In  cut  No.  1,  we  illustrate  the  common  condition 
of  ordinary  plowed  fields.  Observe  the  appearance  un- 
derneath the  portion  of  the  furrow  that  has  been  thrown 
over  by  the  mould  board  on  the  side  of  the  next  furrow. 
This  illustration  shows  a  field  that  had  not  been  disked 
before  plowing. 

Here  is  the  stubble,  weeds  and  clods  that  Kave  rolled 


Cut  No.  2.     Surface  of  Soil  Harrowed  but  without  Sub-Packing. 

from  the  next  furrow,  while  right  at  the  point  where  the 
furrow  is  tipped  over  the  soil  is  firm  from  the  bottom  up. 
The  usual  manner  of  further  preparing  this  ground  is  by 
the  use  of  the  harrow.  This  has  a  tendency  to  level, 
and,  if  shallow  plowed,  to  work  the  ground  down  fairly 
well  at  the  bottom  of  the  plowing.  In  deep  plowing, 
of  six  or  more  inches,  the  harrow  has  but  little  effect 
upon  these  cavities  underneath.  This  is  a  very  serious  prop- 
osition, and  it  is  the  source  of  many  bad  conditions  which 


48  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

have  a  direct  effect  upon  the  final  yield  of  the  crops.  First 
of  all,  it  cuts  off  the  seed  or  root  bed  from  the  sub-soil, 
preventing  the  movement  of  any  moisture  up  into  the 
root-bed.  It  also  forms  air  spaces  or  cavities  where  a 
volume  of  air  may  exist,  which  aids  in  drying  out  the 
soil  immediately  adjacent.  It  also  prevents  the  lateral 
roots  and  feeders  from  extending  and  permeating 
this  portion  of  the  soil,  leaving  a  large  per  cent  of  our 
surface  soil  in  a  condition  riot  at  all  beneficial  to  the  grow- 
ing crop. 

In  cut  No.  3,  we  show  the  cross  section  of  the  same 
two  furrows  shown  in  cut  No.  1.  Here  the  cavities  and 
loose  condition  of  the  soil  at  the  bottom  of  the  furrow 
have  all  been  obliterated  by  the  use  of  the  sub-surface 
packer,  which  is  illustrated  in  cut  No.  5.  These  sharp 
wedge-faced  wheels  have  both  a  downward  and  a  lateral 
pressure  against  the  soil  in  the  spaces  between  them. 
The  soil  is  moved  by  the  packer  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
form  a  firm  and  evenly  packed  stratum  at  the  lower  por- 
tion of  the  furrow. 

EFFECT    OF    THE    DISKING. 

A  word  about  the  disk.  Had  this  land  been  double- 
disked  before  plowing,  the  stubble,  weeds  or  manure 
shown  in  a  strip  at  the  bottom  would  have  been  scattered 
through  the  lower  part  of  the  furrow,  the  soil  made  finer 
and  the  packer  would  have  made  it  more  uniform  and 
firmer,  increasing  its  water-holding  capacity.  This  would 
have  promoted  more  general  nitrification,  facilitated  greater 
and  more  uniform  root  growth  and  made  it  possible  to 
have  even  doubled  the  yield  of  the  crop,  for  it  is  not  un- 
common that  a  little  more  available  fertility  just  tit  the 
proper  time  would  have  increased  the  yield  fully  two 
and  possibly  three  times. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  49 

PHYSICAL  CONDITION  OF  SOIL. 

When  our  farmers  grasp  the  real  meaning  of  the  little 
things  just  referred  to,  that  is,  that  a  certain  physical  or 
mechanical  condition  of  the  soil  must  exist  where  the  roots 
and  rootlets  should  grow,  and  that  this  condition  is  govern- 
ed by  the  time  and  kind  of  tillage,  and  that  only  a  slight 
variation  from  the  ideal  condition  because  of  unscientific 
tillage  or  fitting  may,  and  often  does  make,  five,  ten  or 
twentv-five  bushels  per  acre  difference  in  the  yield,  then 
it  is  that  we  shall  know  by  results  what  the  possibilities 
of  our  great  prairies  are. 

After  the  packer  has  been  used,  by  then  employing 
the  ordinary  smoothing  harrow,  or  any  late  improved 
harrow,  the  surface  is  pulverized  and  made  fine  and  the 
lower  part  of  the  upper  portion,  which  is  shown  as  loose 
and  coarse  in  cut  No.  1,  is  made  firm,  forming  a  perfect 
seed  bed.  The  lower  part  made  firm  by  the  packer  forms 
the  main  root  bed,  while  cut  No.  4  shows  field  complete. 

MANY   IDEAS    AS    TO    PLOWING. 

With  this  general  explanation,  let  us  return  to  the 
subject  of  plowing.  With  the  varied  experiences  of  the 
average  farmer  throughout  the  semi-arid  west  there  has 
arisen  a  great  variety  of  ideas  with  reference  to  depths 
of  plowing,  and  whether  it  is  advisable  even  to  plow  more 
than  once  in  two  or  three  years.  Some  have  resorted  to 
double-listing,  each  farmer  believing  he  has  conceived  a 
very  plausible  reason  why  he  should  plow  three  or  five  inches 
or  why  he  should  not  plow  at  all.  I  fully  appreciate  the 
honesty  and  good  intentions  of  the  farmer,  but  the  reason 
there  is  such  a  great  variety  of  opinion  is  because  he  does 
not  grasp  the  importance  of  having  a  certain  physical 
condition  of  the  soil,  one  that  is  favorable  to  holding  the 
largest  amount  of  moisture  to  the  square  inch;  one  that 


50  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

is  favorable  to  the  most  rapid  movement  of  moisture  by 
capillary  attraction;  one  that  is  most  favorable  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  greatest  anunmt  of  available  fertility, 
and  one  that  is  favorable  to  the  most  prolific  growth 
and  development  of  the  lateral  roots,  with  their  thous- 
ands of  little  feeders.  This  condition  cannot  be  secured 
at  its  best  and  the  largest  productive  results  obtained 
without  thoroughly  plowing,  pulverizing  and  packing  the 
soil  each  and  every  year. 

All  of  the  above  mentioned  conditions  are  gained  by 
plowing  at  a  sufficient  depth  to  stir  the  soil  which  will 
later  contain  the  major  part  of  feeding  roots. 

In  further  discussing  the  question  of  what  is  the  proper 
physical  condition  of  the  soil  when  plowing  is  done,  we 
would  call  your  attention  to  the  furrow  as  it  is  turned  over 
by  the  plow  when  the  soil  is  simply  moist — neither  very 
wet  nor  very  dry.  How  nicely  each  little  particle  of  soil 
seems  to  separate,  one  from  the  other,  when,  if  too  dry, 
a  cloddy  condition  is  observed;  and  the  same  is  true  when 
the  soil  is  too  wet.  We  should  try  to  secure  the  most 
uniform,  fine  condition  of  our  soil  for  the  four-fold  pur- 
pose above  referred  to.  By  close  observation  and  careful 
attention  to  these  important  points  we  may  secure  a 
crop  result  fully  one  hundred  per  cent  greater  than  we 
could  obtain  if  these  items  were  disregarded. 

PROPER  DEPTH  OF  PLOWING 

Let  us  first  consider  the  simple  question  of  deep,  me- 
dium, or  shallow  plowing  from  its  standpoint  alone,  with- 
out considering  the  condition  of  the  soil  at  the  time,  or 
the  kind  of  tools  we  are  going  to  use  after  plowing. 

This  brings  us  to  the  position  of  the  average  plowman 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  51 

up  to  a  very  recent  date.  All  he  considered  in  getting 
ready  to  plow,  was  to  get  his  other  work  out  of  the  way, 
then  go  at  it  and  rip  it  up. 

Many  farmers  and  experimenters  have  endeavored 
under  these  rules  to  ascertain  the  most  desirable  depth 
of  plowing  for  best  results,  and  after  trying  one  piece, 
say,  three  inches,  another  five,  and  another  seven  inches 
deep,  for  three  or  five  years,  they  have  found  themselves 
all  at  sea.  One  year  the  deep  plowing  gave  best  results, 
possibly  the  next  year  it  gave  the  poorest;  while  the  me- 
dium or  shallow  came  in  ahead,  and  all  because  the 
farmer  had  no  conception  whatever  of  the  true  principles 
of  developing  or  promoting  available  fertility.  His  plan 
of  procedure  was  a  gamble,  and  left  him  entirely  at  the 
mercy  of  kind  Providence  in  the  doling  out  of  rain  and 
sunshine.  If  the  rains  came  at  the  proper  time  and  in 
the  proper  quantity,  interspersed  with  no  long,  dry  pe- 
riods, the  game  was  his;  but  if  the  reverse  was  true,  then 
his  deep  plowing  that  did  so  well  the  previous  year,  gave 
a  light  crop,  or  nothing  at  all. 

Had  this  one  question  alone  in  Soil  Culture  been  fully 
understood  twenty  years  ago,  the  central  west  would 
have  never  felt  the  pangs  of  adversity  during  the  panic 
of  the  early  nineties,  nor  would  hundreds  of  eastern  wid- 
ows, orphans,  ministers,  school  teachers,  and  savings 
banks  lost  millions  of  dollars  in  western  mortgages. 

FALL    PLOWING    OLD    LAND. 

After  discussing  the  pros  and  cons  of  spring  plowing, 
it  would  seem  tha.t  we  had  exhausted  the  subject.  Not 
so,  in  the  least.  One  of  the  most  important  questions 
we  have  not  yet  touched,  and  that  is,  what  may  be  done 
to  very  materially  increase  the  chances  of  a  big  crop  of 
wheat  following  wheat? 


52  CAMBFELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

The  following  of  a  harvester  with  a  disk  as  shown  in 
illustration  elsewhere,  is  one  of  the  little  things  that  mean 
much.  Especially  is  this  true  in  the  growing  of  winter 
wheat  in  the  more  arid  sections.  There  are  two  very 
prominent  reasons  for  this: 

First,  by  repeated  experiments  we  have  found  it  very 
important  in  holding  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil  to  prevent 
its  becoming  dry  either  before  the  crop  is  planted,  during 
its  growth,  or  after  it  is  harvested,  in  so  far  as  it  may  be 
possible.  Especially  is  this  true  in  July  and  August, 
during  which  time  the  temperature  usually  runs  high  and  the 
humidity  low,  causing  an  enormous  evaporation  and  rapid 
drying  out  of  the  soil  upon  which  the  dead  stubble  of 
wheat  or  other  small  grain  is  left  standing  with  the  sur- 
face soil  closely  compacted  by  the  rains  or  from  irrigation. 
The  stubble  itself  strongly  attracts  the  sun's  rays.  By 
double-disking  we  are  able  to  mix  the  stubble  and  coarser 
roots  among  the  loosened  soil,  forming  a  most  ideal  mulch 
to  prevent  further  evaporation,  and  if  you  have  been  care- 
ful to  conserve  all  your  moisture  in  previous  years,  you 
will  soon  find  the  firm  soil  beneath  this  mulch  quite  moist. 

INCREASING    THE    FERTILITY. 

This  moisture,  together  with  the  nitrifying  air  that 
freely  permeates  your  mulch,  together  with  the  heat, 
will  develop  more  or  less  bacteria  and  nitrates,  and  really 
increases  the  available  fertility  in  lieu  of  depleting  it,  as 
is  true  when  the  field  is  allowed  to  dry  out  under  the 
more  common  methods. 

Second,  by  the  disking  you  prevent  the  loss  of  moist- 
ure, this  peculiarly  desirable  condition  causing  this  moist- 
ure to  gather  in  the  hard  soil  just  beneath  the  mulch, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  53 

putting  your  field  in  ideal  condition  to  plow,  and  by  using 
reasonable  caution  to  harrow  or  again  disk  in  case  of 
excessive  heavy  rains  you  can  plow  at  any  time. 

CONSIDER    SOIL    CONDITIONS. 

The  proper  depth  of  plowing,  as  we  have  previously 
attempted  to  show,  must  be  governed  very  largely  by  the 
condition  of  the  soil,  the  time  of  year  that  the  plowing  is 
done,  the  time  it  is  to  be  seeded  or  planted,  and  the  kind 
of  tools  you  have  for  the  after  work. 

Take  the  average  prairie  soil,  especially  if  level  with 
a  sand  loam  formation :  I  advise  plowing  fully  seven  inches 
deep  if  to  be  seeded  or  planted  soon  after.  But  to  do  this 
and  anticipate  a  fair  crop,  the  soil  must  be  moist  and  not 
wet.  The  surface  must  be  thoroughly  disked  before 
plowing,  and  the  sub-surface  packer  must  follow  close 
to  the  plow.  The  plowing  done  before  noon  should  be 
packed  before  going  to  dinner,  and  that  done  in  the  after- 
noon packed  before  leaving  the  field  at  night,  and  then 
follow  with  the  harrow  to  get  the  surface  in  good  condi- 
tion before  the  clods  get  too  dry. 

In  case  of  early  fall  plowing,  for  spring  crops  and 
moist  soil,  if  you  have  sufficient  team,  it  will  be  found 
profitable  to  plow  eight  inches  deep,  following  with  a 
packer  and  harrow  as  above  mentioned.  If  you  have  no 
sub-surface  packer,  beg,  buy  or  borrow  one.  If  you  have 
no  packer,  I  would  not  advise  plowing  over  fiver  inches 
deep,  and  use  the  common  harrow  with  teeth  slightly 
slanting  and  weighted,  the  object  being  to  pulverize  and 
firm  the  under  portion  of  the  furrow.  But  don't  figure 
on  getting  the  same  results  from  the  five  inch  plowing 
thus  fitted.  These  observations  are  very  important. 

EVEN    FURROW   SLICES. 

Much  care  and  attention  should  be  given  to  the  furrow 


54  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

slices  that  they  may  be  even  in  width  and  depth,  so  that 
when  you  go  over  the  ground  with  your  packer  or  harrow 
there  may  be  no  soil  spaces  left  loose  and  porous.  The 
average  farmer  must  realize  the  great  importance  of 
thoroughly  fining  and  firming  the  entire  plowed  portion. 
In  the  ordinary  conditions  as  found  at  the  bottom  of  fur- 
rows in  plowing  left  without  any  further  work  until  it 
has  all  dried  out,  shown  in  cut  No.  1,  fully  one-third  of 
the  soil  contributes  no  nourishment  whatever  to  the  growth 
or  production  of  the  crop.  By  adding  a  little  extra  pains 
and  labor  that  one-third  of  non-productive  soil  may  be 
put  in  condition  to  do  its  full  share  in  making  a  larger 
and  better  crop,  while  the  remaining  two-thirds  will 
bring  far  better  results.  By  closely  following  this  rule 
you  will  greatly  increase  the  certainty  as  well  as  the  quan- 
tity and  quality  of  your  crops  of  small  grain. 

BREAKING    NEW    PRAIRIE    LANDS. 

There  are  two  questions  to  consider  in  breaking 
new  prairie,  both  of  which  are  quite  vital. 

First,  what  can  or  should  be  done  to  promote  the 
quickest  and  most  thorough  decomposition  not  only 
of  the  sod  that  is  turned  over,  but  of  that  portion  of  the 
soil  just  beneath  the  sod  that  we  expect  to  turn  on  top 
in  our  next  plowing. 

Second,  how  to  get  all  the  rainwater  possible  to  pass 
below  the  sod,  and  there  conserve  it. 

When  we  went  to  Dakota  in  1879,  the  idea  was  very 
prevalent  that  the  sod  as  it  was  turned  over  should  be 
allowed  to  kink  up  and  lie  loosely  on  the  surface.  This 
we  soon  found  was  a  very  erroneous  idea  for  the  semi- 
arid  sections,  a  plan  that  might  have  originated  in  early 
Illinois  home  making. 

With  fourteen  years'  farming  in  Dakota,  we  became 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  55 

very  much  prejudiced  in  favor  of  breaking  only  when 
the  grass  was  growing  the  fastest.  Other  facts  and  con- 
ditions have  developed  to  that  degree  that  we  have  prac- 
tically lost  sight  of  this  idea  except  in  the  more  humid 
sections. 

The  marvelous  and  rapid  change  of  the  big  pastures 
in  the  great  semi-arid  sections  of  this  country  into  farm- 
ing sections  through  Scientific  Soil  Culture  during  1905 
and  1906  .has  brought  forth  thousands  of  inquiries  as  to 
how  these  prairies  may  be  opened  up  and  a  crop  grown 
the  first  year. 

Having  opened  up  two  farms  of  this  nature  in  the 
Panhandle  of  Texas,  and  observing  many  other  fields 
during  the  above  two  years,  coupled  with  our  early  expe- 
rience with  sod  breaking  in  the  Dakotas  in  1879  to  1889, 
we  find  the  best  plan,  if  possible  to  do  so,  is  to  break  the 
fall  before, 

FALL    BREAKING. 

We  are  assuming  that  we  have  what  is  commonly  known 
as  buffalo  sod.  For  best  results  we  would  break  as  early 
in  the  fall  as  it  may  be  consistent,  and  as  to  depth  of 
breaking  would  be  governed  by  the  tools  we  had  to  operate 
with  and  kind  of  crop  we  desired  to  plant. 

If  for  spring  wheat  or  oats  break  about  three  and 
a  half  inches  deep,  using  the  walking  rod  breaker,  and  using 
the  greatest  possible  care  to  turn  it  flat.  Follow  with  a 
smooth  roller  if  one  can  be  had.  In  lieu  of  this,  use  the 
sub-surface  packer,  going  twice  over  the  field,  then  harrow 
to  fill  the  crevices,  and  leave  until  spring. 

As  early  as  conditions  will  permit,  double-disk,  set- 
ting the  disk  levers  as  far  over  as  possible,  and  not  turn 


56  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

up  the  sod  from  the  bottom.  Then  harrow  thoroughly 
with  common  smoothing  harrow,  teeth  slanted  back 
and  weighted. 

FOR  POTATOES,  VEGETABLES,  ETC. 

Follow  same  plan  as  above  outlined,  except  break 
about  three  inches.  '  after  treating  as  above  outlined, 
plow  again  with  stirring  or  stubble  plow  about  two  inches 
deeper,  following  the  plow  with  the  sub-surface  packer, 
then  harrow. 

In  case  fall  breaking  is  impossible  and  spring  breaking 
is  imperative,  follow  practically  the  same  plan  of  fitting 
for  the  different  crops,  but  of  necessity  the  breaking  must 
be  early.  Bear  in  mind  the  soil  must  be  fine,  and  at  the 
bottom  as  firm  as  it  may  be  possible  to  get  it. 

The  disk  plow  may  be  used.  It  is  only  a  question  of 
getting  the  soil  as  fine  and  firm  as  possible  for  reasons 
frequently  reiterated  all  through  this  volume.  Very  good 
Milo  maize  and  Kaffir  corn  can  be  grown  in  the  same 
manner  for  feed  for  teams. 

When  necessary  to  spring-break  sod,  we  would  not 
advise  sowing  oats  in  a  section  where  the  rainfall  is  less 
than  20  inches  annually.  It  is  by  no  means  a  sure  crop 
on  sod,  no  matter  how  it  is  fitted.  It  is  not  wise  to  risk 
any  more  on  sod  than  necessities  demand. 

BREAKING    SOD    FOR    FALL    WHEAT. 

There  is  very  little  prairie  sod  now  unbroken  except 
in  the  more  arid  sections,  and  we  believe  in  turning  it  as 
quickly  as  conditions  will  permit,  and  so  far  as  it  may 
be  possible,  break  tbe  fall  before  you  wish  to  crop, 
as  it  will  pay.  If  at  any  time  you  have  some  leisure, 
curn  over  some  sod  as  flat  as  you  can.  Roll  it  to  make  it 
lie  firmly  against  the  subsoil.  The  packer  does  very 
well  if  you  have  no  roller.  Keep  the  surface  worked 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  57 

after  heavy  rains.  If  you  can't  loosen  it  with  any  other 
tool,  disk  it.  Watch,  and  so  far  as  possible,  harrow  when 
the  surface  is  just  moist.  This  will  prevent  the  loss  of 
any  moisture,  holding  it  as  far  as  it  may  be  possible  beneath 
the  blanket,  and  in  case  of  heavy  rain  harrow  again.  With 
this  blanket  properly  provided  during  June  and  July  the 
sod  itself  will  not  only  be  found  to  be  well  rotted  but  the 
top  of  the  subsoil  to  a  depth  of  one  to  three  inches  also. 
In  August,  or  as  soon  as  the  soil  beneath  the  blanket  is 
rotted,  it  should  be  plowed  again,  this  time  with  the 
stirring  or  stubble  plow,  cutting  about  two  and  a  half 
inches  deeper  and  following  with  the  sub-surface  packer, 
the  same  as  outlined  for  ordinary  stubble  plowing.  The 
harrowing  should  be  very  thorough. 

If  care  has  been  taken  to  conserve  the  rain  waters 
and  the  work  well  done,  this  ground  may  be  planted  to 
fall  wheat  or  to  spring  crops  the  following  spring,  after 
which  it  should  be  treated  the  same  as  old  ground,  except 
to  run  the  plow  two  inches  deeper  the  next  time. 

There  is  no  economy,  but  on  the  other  hand,  great 
waste,  in  trying  to  economize  or  minimize  the  amount 
of  labor  required  to  thoroughly  prepare  the  soil  for  the 
sowing  or  planting  of  grain,  for  the  work  of  thorough 
preparation  is  easily  and  quickly  done,  and  when  once 
done  a  successful  harvest  is  assured. 


58  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTUEE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  IX. 


'  SUB-SURFACE  PACKING. 

By  sub-surface  packing  we  mean  the  packing  and 
firming  of  the  soil  at  the  bottom  of  the  ordinary  furrow 
by  a  mechanical  process  and  the  elimination  of  the  open 
spaces  between  large  lumps  of  the  earth. 

To  those  who  have  been  drilled  in  the  theory  of  sub- 
soil plowing,  and  who  have  been  taught  that  the  chief 
thing  is  to  open  up  the  under  soil  as  much  as  possible, 
or  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  the  great  difference 
there  is  in  soils  in  different  sections  of  the  country,  the 
suggestion  of  the  necessity  for  firming  the  sub-surface 
will  come  as  a  shock. 

This  sub-surface  packing  of  the  soil  is  something  that 
even  the  professional  students  of  the  subject  have  found 
hard  to  understand.  It  is  something  against  which 
some  of  them  have  protested,  because  they  have  failed 
to  understand  all  that  is  involved.  But  it  is  a  principle 
which  is  making  its  own  way.  As  we  will  show  elsewhere 
the  interest  in  the  subject  is  increasing  at  a  great  rate. 
Appliances  for  accomplishing  this  result  are  becoming 
more  and  more  in  demand.  Practical  farmers  are  learn- 
ing that  it  is  the  thing. 

Sub-surface  packing  is  a  purely  mechanical  process. 
Special  tools  are  on  the  market  for  doing  this  work,  but 
no  matter  what  tool  or  implement  may  be  used,  the  prin- 
ciple is  just  the  same,  and  results  will  follow  in  proportion 
to  the  success  which  has  been  attained  in  doing  this  nee- 


CAMPBELL'S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL  59 

essary  packing  and  at  the  right  time.  Elsewhere  is  de- 
scribed more  in  detail  the  sub-surface  packer  especially 
devised  for  doing  this  work,  a  machine  which  is  winning 
its  way  because  of  demonstration  that  it  has  a  mission 
to  fulfill  and  is  doing  it. 

Sub-surface  packing  of  the  soil  is  a  process  of  follow- 
ing the  plow  immediately  or  otherwise  with  implements 
which  crush  down  the  loose  soil  of  the  under  portion  of 
the  furrow  slice,  breaking  up  the  large  lumps,  compact- 
ing the  whole  so  that  the  particles  of  soil  lie  closer  together 
and  form  a  perfect  connection  between  the  unbroken 
earth  beneath  the  surface  and  the  loosened  soil  of  the 
furrow.  It  is  not  compacting  the  surface  layer  as  by 
a  roller,  for  that  merely  invites  waste  of  the  land  as  dust. 
It  has  reference  solely  to  that  portion  of  the  soil  which 
lies  near  the  bottom  of  the  cultivated  upper  soil. 

Nature  has  placed  at  the  disposal  of  man  all  the  nec- 
essary conditions  and  elements  in  the  sand  loam  soils 
on  the  level  prairies  of  the  great  semi-arid  belt,  together 
with  the  properties  of  air  and  water,  aided  by  heat  and 
light,  to  produce  large  crops  every  year,  but  has  wisely 
left  it  to  man  to  work  out  the  manner  and  method  of 
combining  these  elements;  and  it  is  now  apparent  that 
the  combining  or  utilizing  of  these  elements  must  be  upon 
strictly  scientific  principles,  or  in  plain  English,  there 
must  be  correct  principles  under  these  ideal  conditions 
and  every  part  of  the  work  must  be  done  precisely  at 
the  proper  time  and  in  a  correct  manner. 

MISSION    OF    THE    PACKER. 

The  Sub-Surface  Packer  has  a  vital  mission  to  per- 
form. Its  main  object  is  not  that  of  aiding  in  storing 
the  moisture  in  the  soil,  but  that  of  controlling  or  equal- 
izing the  holding  capacity  of  the  soil  for  both  air  and  water. 


60 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  tool  to  simply  hold  up  the 
present  normal  yield,  but  to  greatly  increase  the  present 
average  yield  by  from  50  to  250  per  cent. 

Experiments  repeated  over  and  over  again  in  a  variety 
of  soils  in  the  semi-arid  belt,  have  proven  conclusively 


Cut  No.  3.     Showing  Soil  as  the  Packer  Leaves  It. 

that  in  promoting  or  developing  plant  elements  or  fertility 
under  such  conditions  that  it  may  be  available  in  large 
quantities,  there  must  be  in  the  soil  just  the  proper  quan- 
tity of  both  air  and  water.  If  there  be  too  much  water 
and  too  little  air,  or  too  little  water  and  too  much  air, 
you  cannot  secure  the  best  possible  results. 


CAMBPELI/S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL  61 

In  the  latter  lies  the  greatest  danger,  as  a  rule.  If 
the  soil  is  too  coarse  and  loose,  then  the  air  exists  in  too 
large  quantities,  and  the  development  of  nitrates  and  bac- 
teria is  proportionately  slow. 

The  condition  has  proven  to  be  most  ideal  when  the 
soil  is  thoroughly  pulverized  and  closely  compacted  from 
the  bottom  of  the  furrow  up  to  within  two  to  three  inches 
of  the  surface,  while  this  surface  layer  of  two  or  three 
inches,  should  be  loose  and  composed  of  fine  and  medium 
lumps  to  allow  of  a  free  permeation  of  the  air,  and  to 
prevent  the  moisture  being  depleted  below  the  proper 
or  normal  quantity  by  surface  evaporation. 

Another  important  advantage  is  gained  by  the  pack- 
ing of  this  lower  portion  of  the  furrow  slice,  and  that  is, 
the  increasing  of  the  water  holding  capacity  of  the  soil, 
enabling  us  to  carry  our  plants  over  long  dry  periods 
without  the  least  injury.  There  have  been  instances 
where  this  one  advantage  alone  has  made  a  difference 
of  fifteen  to  twenty  bushels  per  acre  in  the  yield. 

MOVEMENT    OF    WATER    IN    SOIL. 

The  movement  of  the  water  in  the  soil  under  varying 
conditions  of  the  soil  and  the  surface  should  be  well  un- 
derstood. A  discussion  of  the  subject  may  not  seem  of 
interest  to  the  average  farmer,  yet  the  well  established 
facts  in  regard  to  this  subject  have  great  weight  when 
carefully  considered  in  connection  with  the  preparation 
of  the  soil  for  crops.  It  is  a  subject  altogether  too  broad 
and  represents  too  much  in  dollars  and  cents  to  be  held 
back  from  general  use  by  mere  prejudice  or  the  skepti- 
cism that  usually  rises  in  the  face  of  all  new  devices  or 
methods. 

Professor  F.  H.  King,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  learned  men  in  soil  physics 


62 

we  have  in  the  West,  if  not  in  the  country,  in  1895  pub- 
lished a  book  entitled  "The  Soil,"  which  book  should  be 
in  the  hands  of  every  farmer.  In  treating  the  question 
of  the  effect  of  rolling  on  soil  moisture,  he  says: 

"When,  however,  the  changes  in  the  water  contents 
of  the  surface  four  feet  of  soil  which  follow  the  use  of  a 
heavy  roller  are  studied,  it  is  found  that  we  have  here  a 
case  of  the  translocation  of  soil  moisture,  a  case  where 
by  destroying  the  many  large  non-capillary  pores  in  the 
surface  soil,  and  bringing  its  grains  more  closely  together, 
its  water-lifting  power  is  increased  and  to  such  an  extent 
that  often  within  twenty-four  hours  after  rolling  the 
upper  one  or  two  feet  beneath  the  firm  ground  have  come 
to  contain  more  moisture  than  similar  and  immediately 
adjacent  land  does  at  the  same  level,  while  the  lower  two 
feet  have  become  dryer.  Water  has  been  lifted  from  the 
lower  into  the  upper  soil. 

"In  the  table  below  will  be  seen  the  difference  in  the 
water  contents  of  the  soils  which  have  been  rolled  and 
the  immediately  adjacent  ones  not  so  treated.  These 
results  are  averages  derived  from  one  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  sets  of  samples,  therefore  not  a  conclusion  of  theroy, 
but  one  of  fact,  from  continued  repeated  practical  results: 

Per  cent  of  water 

"Surface  36  to  54  inches,  unrolled,  contained  19.73 
Surface  36  to  54  inches,  rolled,  contained      18.72 

Loss  by  rolling 1.01 

Surface  24  to  36  inches,  unrolled,  contained  19.85 
Surface  24  to  36  inches,  rolled,  contained      19.29 

Loss  by  rolling 56 

Surface    2  to  18  inches,  rolled,  contained      16.85 
Surface    2  to  18  inches,  unrolled,  contained  15.64 


Gain  by  rolling 1 .21" 


CAMPBELL'S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL 


63 


ROLLING    VS.  SUB-SURFACE    PACKING 

It  is  here  seen  that  when  samples  of  soil  are  taken  at 
a  depth  exceeding  two  feet,  the  rolled  ground  as  a  whole 
is  dryer  than  that  not  rolled,  and  that  this  difference  is 
greater  when  the  samples  are  taken  at  a  depth  of  from 
three  to  four  or  more  feet.  The  data  presented  also 
shows  that  the  two  to  eighteen  surface  inches  of  loose 
ground  recently  firmed  contains  more  water  than  that 
which  has  not  been  so  treated.  It  is  a  matter  we  have 


Cut  No.  4.     Showing  Soil  after  Packing  and  Harrowing. 

carefully  studied,  and  in  all  our  experimental  work  we 
have  observed  that  the  statements  of  Professor  King 
have  been  verified  fully;  thus  affording  conclusive  proof 
of  the  truth  of  all  that  we  have  said  with  reference  to  the 
sub-surface  packing  of  the  soil.  When  the  extreme  sur- 
face is  packed  the  effect  is  to  draw  the  moisture  to  the 
surface  where  it  is  lost  by  evaporation.  By  the  sub- 


64  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

packing,  as  shown  in  cut  No.  4,  we  have  that  firm  strat- 
um at  the  point  where  the  roots  mainly  grow,  and  with 
our  loose  mulch  on  the  surface  we  prevent  the  loss  of 
our  moisture  by  evaporation. 


Cut  No.  5.    Sub-surface  Packer. 

Results  obtained  by  Professor  King  in  these  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-seven  tests  certainly  prove  very  effectually 
the  correctness  of  the  conclusion  of  sub-packing.  We 
secure  a  much  deeper  or  thicker  stratum  of  packed  soil 
than  can  possibly  be  secured  from  a  surface  roller.  This 
would  of  itself  create  a  greater  force  of  capillary  lifting 
power.  Then  again,  and  don't  lose  sight  of  this  fact, 
as  the  sub-packed  soil  lifts  the  moisture  it  is  not  lost  by 
evaporation  as  is  the  moisture  from  the  surface  packed, 
but  is  held  there  beneath  the  loose  surface  or  soil  mulch. 
This  fact  causes  an  accumulation  of  moisture  in  the  packed 
portion  which  further  aids  in  the  upward  movement  of 
the  moisture  from  below.  This  translocation  of  water 
brought  about  by  the  sub-packing  is  of  the  highest  im- 
portance when  we  reach  the  long  dry  periods  so  common 
in  midsummer,  a  condition  we  rarely  fail  to  get  some- 
time each  and  every  year.  We  have  proven  by  practical 
tests,  over  and  over  again,  that  by  this  increased  move- 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


65 


ment  of  the  moisture  the  plant  is  amply  supplied,  under 
which  conditions  the  damage  so  common  is  not  only 
prevented,  but  the  plant  has  been  able  to  make  a  rapid, 
healthy  growth  right  through,  while  plants  in  ordinary 
manner  have  suffered  and  possibly  been  ruined  because 
of  shortage  of  moisture. 

When  we  reach  a  point  in  the  extreme  heated  portion 
of  the  last  afternoon  prior  to  a  heavy  rain,  where  our 
supply  of  moisture  is  beginning  to  shorten,  the  fact  that 
we  have  by  this  sub-surface  packing  been  able  to  lift  the 
water  stored  below  a  little  faster  may  be  the  means  of 
doubling  or  trebling  the  yield. 

Another  point  that  has  been  but  slightly  touched  upon 
is,  that  by  this  fine,  firm  substratum  we  are  able  to  carry 
what  might  be  quite  properly  termed  a  balanced  quantity 
or  ration  of  both  air  and  water,  thus  bringing  about  that 
most  ideal  condition  for  the  development  of  fertility. 

DEVELOPMENT    OF    ROOTS. 


Cut  No.  6.     Development  of  Roots  in  Firm  Soil. 
In  cut  No.  6,  we  represent  the  cross  section  of  a  lat- 


66  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

eral  or  branch  root  very  largely  magnified.  The  little 
branches  running  out  from  the  center  represent  the  little 
hair  roots  or  feeders  which  are  often  so  small  that  they 
are  scarcely  perceptible  to  the  naked  eye.  These  little 
feeders  are  neither  more  nor  less  than  little  tubes,  or. 
elongated  cells.  You  will  notice  in  the  outer  tier  of  cells 
each  little  feeder  practically  forms  a  part  of  the  cell.  The 
soil  where  this  root  is  located  is  represented  to  be  that 
ideal  condition  of  fineness  and  firmness  previously  referred 
to,  a  condition  that  means  so  much  to  any  plant,  not 
only  to  sustain  it  in  a  healthy,  growing  condition,  during 
critical  drouthy  conditions,  but  to  promote  a  strong, 
healthy,  rapid  growth  during  the  ideal  climatic  condi- 
tions. 

In  cut  No.  7,  we  represent  a  coarser  or  less  compacted 
soil.  Here  the  lateral  root  is  only  able  to  send  out  two 
little  feeders,  This  condition  is  very  serious.  We  have 
examined  roots  many  times  and  found  them  three,  four, 
and  five  inches  in  length,  with  scarcely  a  hair  root  or 
feeder  the  entire  distance.  Then  coming,  possibly,  to 
the  packed  soil  beneath  a  horse-foot  track,  we  would  find 
a  complete  net-work  of  little  feeders  running  in  every 
direction.  The  one  great  reason  for  this  greatly  increased 
number  of  feeders  in  the  packed  soil  is  the  fact  of  its 
ideal  physical  condition  with  its  perfectly  balanced  ration 
of  plant  foods,  just  what  the  little  rootlets  go  out  after 
when  they  start  from  the  newly  germinated  seed.  Just 
keep  your  mind  on  this  one  fact,  not  only  in  the  study  of 
this  Manual,  but  in  your  field  work  and  observation. 

MAKING    THE    SEED    BED. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  put  too  much  stress  upon  the 
point  of  thoroughly  pulverizing  and  packing  the  seed 
bed.  Probably  the  strongest  or  most  complete  practical 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


67 


illustration  was  brought  out  at  the  Pomeroy  model  farm, 
at  Hill  City,  Kansas,  in  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  wheat  sown  in  the  fall  of  1901.  This  ground  had  been 
prepared  with  the  greatest  possible  care,  having  been 
plowed  seven  inches  deep,  with  the  soil  in  a  moist  condi- 
tion, kept  so  by  the  disking  and  harrowing  of  the  surface. 
When  plowed,  the  plow  was  followed  closely  with  the  sub- 
surface packer,  and  the  harrow  following  closely  the  sub- 
surface packer.  By  endeavoring  to  do  all  the  work  when 
the  soil  was  in  proper  condition,  we  had  secured  a  very 
favorable  physical  condition.  At  the  time  of  seeding, 
October  8th,  9th,  and  10th,  there  was  a  fine  loose  mulch 


No.  7.     Root  Development  in  Loose  Soil. 

on  the  surface,  two  and  one-half  inches  deep.  The  soil 
immediately  beneath  was  very  fine,  firm  and  moist.  The 
wheat  was  put  in  with  a  shoe  drill,  less  than  one-half 
bushel  of  seed  to  the  acre,  from  one-half  to  one  inch  into 
this  fine,  moist  soil,  just  beneath  the  mulch.  Germi- 


68 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


nation  and  development  were  rapid.  The  fourth  day,  as 
regular  as  the  days  came  after  seeding,  the  little  green 
spears  could  be  seen  the  entire  length  of  the  row.  On 
the  seventh  day  these  leaves  measured  from  three  to  four 
inches  high.  Thus,  in  seven  days,  the  hard,  dry  seeds 
had  become  moistened,  burst  their  shells,  sent  out  later- 
ally the  little  rootlets,  and  the  little  stalks  had  grown  to 
a  height  of  five  or  six  inches  from  the  seed.  This  is  not 
all.  On  the  sixteenth  day  of  November,  this  wheat  was 
taller  and  thicker  than  a  field  sown  on  the  sixteenth  day 
of  September,  with  one  and  one-quarter  bushels  of  seed  on 
soil  fitted  without  sub-packing. 

In    cut  No.  8,  we  have  two    conditions  of    soil.     On 


Cut  No.  8.     Germination  of  Wheat  Influenced  by 
Firmness  of  Soil. 

the  right  we  have  the  more  common  plan.     Here  we  find 
the   grain   of   wheat   in   somewhat   coarse   and   loose   soil, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  69 

where  the  subsurface  packer  has  not  been  used.  It  is  in 
this  kind  of  a  seed  bed  that  the  wheat  frequently  remains 
all  the  fall  without  germinating;  again  it  may  sprout 
because  of  a  shower  only  to  wither  and  die  from  later  dry 
windy  weather,  or  perchance  may  absorb  just  enough 
to  burst  the  shell  and  send  the  germ  out  slightly  and  a 
few  feeble  rootlets,  then  be  completely  ruined  by  the 
winter  freezing  because  of  a  lack  of  moisture  in  the  soil 
about  the  roots  to  draw  the  frost  in  thawing  out.  All 
this  is  because  of  an  unbalanced  ration,  too  much  air  and 
too  little  water. 

IDEAL    CONDITION    OF    SOIL. 

On  the  left  we  have  the  ideal  condition,  a  condition 
that  can  easily  be  attained  at  a  nominal  expense.  By 
the  use  of  the  sub-surface  packer  when  the  soil  is  in  proper 
condition  as  previously  explained,  we  get  that  fine,  even 
firm  condition  as  shown,  to  a  depth  of  seven  inches;  then 
with  a  good  harrow  we  secure  the  fine,  loose  mulch 
about  two  inches  deep;  with  the  closed  heel  shoe  drill  we 
provided  that  V-shaped  opening  about  one  inch  in  the 
firm  soil  into  which  the  grain  drops.  As  it  reaches  the 
bottom  it  is  surrounded,  except  over  the  top,  with  fine, 
firm  moist  soil.  The  fine  dirt  that  very  naturally  fills 
this  opening  as  the  shoe  moves  along,  puts  our  wheat 
where  all  conditions  are  as  nearly  perfect  to  utilize  the 
greatest  quantity  of  the  greatest  number  of  nature's  pro- 
visions or  resources  for  the  rapid,  healthy  prolific  growth 
of  the  plant. 

The  numerous  small  moist  particles  of  soil  that  come 
in  contact  with  the  wheat  .conveys  the  moisture  quickly 
and  in  ample  quantities.  This,  coupled  with  the  air  from 
above  brings  about  the  very  remarkable  germination  and 
development  shown  at  the  extreme  left  of  cut  No.  8  in  the 
short  space  of  five  days. 


70  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE 'MANUAL 

Study  well  this  illustration  and  note  the  varied  condi- 
tions. The  single  grain  at  the  right  in  the  left  hand  sec- 
tion is  simply  to  show  the  surrounding  condition  as  it  is 
deposited,  compared  with  those  in  the  loose  soil  to  the 
right.  Do  not  simply  look  at  the  illustration,  but  study 
the  relative  condition  and  reasonable  results  that  may 
be  anticipated  from  each,  and  to  aid  you  in  this  conclu- 
sion, consider  well  what  has  already  been  said  with  ref- 
erence to  the  ideal  physical  or  mechanical  condition  of 
the  soil. 

QUICK     GERMINATION 

This  quick  germination  is  always  apparent  in  all  our 
fields,  and  is  invariably  followed  by  early  and  prolific 
stooling,  as  shown  in  the  chapter  on  wheat  growing. 

On  the  Kilpatrick  Brothers'  ranch  in  Chase  county, 
Nebraska,  where  we  had  directed  the  preparing  of  some 
ground  for  fall  wheat  in  1903,  the  wheat  was  sown  Sep- 
tember 14th,  two  weeks  after  the  last  rain,  the  field  being 
on  a  slope  towards  Champion,  a  town  two  and  a  half  miles 
away.  On  the  morning  of  the  nineteenth,  really  but  four 
days  from  seeding,  the  shape  of  the  field  was  discernible 
from  Champion  by  its  green  color.  This  statement  may 
be  emphasized  from  the  fact  that  hundreds  of  acres  of 
wheat  were  sown  that  fall,  and  not  another  one  showed 
green  that  season.  Because  of  over  seven  months  without 
rain,  beginning  September  1st,  the  Kilpatrick  wheat  was 
all  that  was  harvested  in  that  county,  making  over  thirty 
bushels  to  the  acre,  the  rest  being  a  total  failure. 

As  a  further  evidence,  let  us  refer  to  some  of  the  more 
common  conditions  that  have  occurred  and  many  times 
puzzled  the  farmer  in  years  gone  by. 

In  the  spring  of  1899  a  large  amount  of  winter  wheat  in 
the  semi-arid  belt  was  found  to  have  been  killed.  We  drove 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  71 

over  many  fields  that  spring  to  investigate  and  study  the 
cause  as  far  as  possible.  One  fact  was  invariably  percep- 
tible— where  the  soil  was  light  and  loose  to  a  considerable 
depth,  the  wheat  was  entirely  dead.  In  the  more  com- 
pact portions  or  spots  in  the  fields,  the  condition  of  the 
wheat  was  found  better.  For  instance,  along  the  sides 
of  the  dead  furrows  almost  all  of  the  wheat  was  found  to 
in  a  perfectly  healthy  condition,  while  on  the  back  furrows 
it  was  usually  all  dead.  Again,  at  the  corners  of  the 
fields  where  lands  were  plowed  around,  and  the  horses 
in  turning  had  tramped  and  packed  the  plowed  ground, 
the  wheat  was  found  to  be  in  good  condition.  The  horse 
foot  and  wheel  tracks  invariably  had  a  favorable 
effect.  This  is  a  condition  and  result  that  is  corroborated 
by  all  investigators,  that  if  there  is  plenty  of  moisture  in 
the  ground  there  is  little  or  no  danger  of  freezing  or  winter 
killing,  while  if  the  soil  is  loose  and  becomes  too  dry  serious 
results  follow.  The  same  was  fully  shown  in  the  quota- 
tion from  the  Illinois  Agricultural  college  bulletin,  por- 
tions of  which  we  quote  under  the  heading  of  "  Raising 
Trees."  These  conditions  bear  out  all  observations,  both 
with  reference  to  the  fact  that  packing  the  soil  will  increase 
the  water  contents  of  those  portions,  and  the  further  fact 
as  stated  by  the  Illinois  bulletin,  that  if  there  be  plenty  of 
moisture  about  the  roots  there  is  practically  no  injury 
from  freezing. 

VALUE    OF    HEALTHY    ROOT    SYSTEM. 

One  point  which  we  have  tried  to  impress  upon  our 
readers  at  different  times,  is  the  fact  that  plants  cannot 
thrive  and  produce  abundant  yields  without  a  perfectly 
healthy  root  system  and  a  perfect  root  system  is  a  phy- 
sical impossibility  in  coarse,  loose  soils.  Professor  King 
has  shown  by  practical  experiments,  and  all  observation 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

confirms  his  conclusions,  that  in  soil  that  is  packed  the 
moisture  moves  upward  from  a  depth  of  from  one  to  four 
feet  much  more  rapidly  than  in  loose  soil.  It  is  therefore 
important  to  have  this  packing  when  a  condition  of 
extreme  drouth  is  reached,  as  it  may  be  the  one  thing 
that  will  save  a  crop. 

Another  very  marked  advantage  of  this  sub-packing 
was  found  in  our  work  at  the  Burlington  model  'farm 
at  Holdrege,  Nebraska.  In  1005  a  piece  of  ground  was 
plowed  for  corn;  a  strip  was  left  unpacked  but  all  was 
well  harrowed  and  the  corn  planted  the  same  day.  Where 
the  packing  was  done,  the  stand  of  corn  was  perfect,  while 
the  strip  not  packed  had  hardly  a  two-thirds  stand,  and 
the  entire  season's  growth  showed  the  advantage  of  pack 
ing.  While  the  use  of  the  sub-surface  packer  has  been 
found  valuable  in  Wisconsin  and  Illinois,  the  further  west 
we  get  into  the  semi-arid  country,  the  greater  is  its  import- 
ance, while  in  the  more  arid  portions  of  the  semi-arid  belt 
its  use  is  practically  indispensible. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Professor  King  experi- 
mented in  packing  at  the  extreme  surface,  where  near- 
ly all  the  moisture  that  had  moved  to  this  point  was 
lost  by  evaporation,  and  that  had  the  packing  been  done 
just  below  the  surface  the  contrast  would  have  been  much 
greater.  Professor  King's  experiments  were  on  the  grounds 
of  the  Wisconsin  college,  where  soil  moisture  is  invariably 
found  all  through  the  soil  down  to  sheet  water.  Had 
they  been  made  in  our  semi-arid  region,  the  contrast  would 
have  been  greater.  If  we  get  our  soil  moistened  here  to 
a  depth  of  four  or  five  feet  we  have  exceeded  by  some 
distance  the  usual  conditions,  and  this  depth  of  soil  moist- 
ure would  be  sufficient  to  carry  us  any  ordinary  season 
in  the  successful  growth  of  crops.  Had  Professor  King's 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  rui/rumo   MANUAL  76 

experiments  been  made  with  a  three  inch  layer  of  loose 
soil  mulch  above  the  packed  portion,  they  would  have 
shown  a  much  greater  increase  of  moisture  at  -the  point 
of  two  to  eighteen  inches. 

EFFECT    OF    THE    SUB-PACKING. 

All  these  facts  in  connection  with  the  movement  of 
moisture  in  the  soil,  under  different  conditions  of  the  soil, 
as  indicated  in  the  experiments  noted  and  the  teachings 
of  the  most  eminent  students  of  soil  physics,  give  us  the 
valuable  lesson  that  the  packing  of  the  sub-soil,  or  what 
may  be  properly  termed  the  root-bed,  aids  us  in  these 
important  points;  increasing  the  water  holding  capacity 
of  the  soil  facilitates  the  movement  of  the  water  from 
below  up  to  this  point  when  it  is  needed. 

The  last  but  by  no  means  least  of  the  advantages  de- 
rived from  this  sub-packing  outside  of  what  has  been 
already  mentioned,  is  that  by  the  increased  upward  move- 
ment of  moisture  previously  explained,  we  are  able  to  keep 
up  the  supply  of  moisture  about  the  roots  to  that  degree 
that  nitrification  and  the  development  of  fertility  continues 
though  the  weather  be  hot  and  parching,  and  the  plant 
is  growing  rapidly,  and  yet  through  this  ideal  condition 
we  are  able  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  plant  elements  in  a 
soluble  condition,  thus  giving  to  the  plant  that  dark  green, 
healthy,  prolific  growth  without  a  set-back,  which  is,  by 
the  way,  the  secret  of  large  yields. 

Now  let  us  take  a  last  look  at  the  field  of  grain  trying 
to  exist  on  a  piece  of  land  the  root-bed  of  which  is  coarse 
and  loose.  The  excessive  heat  has  caused  such  a  rapid 
evaporation  from  the  leaf  and  the  upward  movement  of 
moisture  by  capilliary  attraction  has  been  so  slow  that 
the  moisture  aboua  the  roots  has  become  so  depleted  that 
nitrification  ceases;  all  fertility  has  become  unavailable, 


74 

the  plant  has  taken  on  a  pale,  unhealthy  look,  and  upon 
the  time  in  season,  and  the  duration  of  the  period  of 
drouth,  depends  the  extent  of  injury  to  the  crop. 

This  is  so  important  that  it  may  be  stated  again  plainly, 
so  that  no  reader  may  misunderstand.  The  process  of 
packing  the  under  portion  of  furrow  or  plowed  ground 
creates  five  conditions  to  aid  in  carrying  the  growing  crop 
over  long  dry  periods,  namely: 

1.  More  water  in  the  soil. 

2.  A  stronger  capillary  movement  of  water. 

3.  More  prolific  growth  of  roots. 

4.  A  more  rapid  development  of  nitrates  and  bac- 
teria. 

5.  A  larger  per  cent  of   available  fertility  or    plant 
elements  during  drouthy  periods  or  conditions. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  75 


CHAPTER   X. 


SUMMER   CULTURE. 

Under  this  caption  we  must  of  necessity,  reiterate 
much  that  has  been  said  in  previous  chapters,  as  it  com- 
bines more  ideas  of  soil  tillage  into  new  forms,  combina- 
tions and  uses  than  any  other  chapter.  In  fact,  it  was 
during  our  early  experiments  along  this  line  that  we  dis- 
covered the  marvelous  possibilities  of  the  soils  under  semi- 
arid  conditions. 

It  was  also  while  working  out  the  most  desirable  meth- 
ods in  detail  in  Summer  Culture  that  we  first  became  fully 
convinced  that  the  average  yield  of  all  cultivated  fields 
in  the  more  arid  sections  could  be  made  to  produce  not 
only  two  and  three  times  as  much  fodder  and  grain  as  haa 
been  heretofore  produced  in  good  years,  but  that  good 
yields  could  be  made  certain  in  dry  seasons,  and  it  is  since 
we  have  been  proving  the  correctness  of  some  of  our  con- 
clusions along  these  lines,  that  Scientific  Soil  Culture  has 
become  recognized  as  the  great  factor  in  all  agricultural 
development. 

While  many  of  the  ideas  and  combination  of  ideas  of 
Summer  Culture  are  new,  and  their  application  and  effect 
in  the  more  humid  sections  are  not  yet  fully  proven;  yet 
it  is  very  apparent  that  the  principles  will  prove  of  great 
value  under  all  conditions  and  in  all  farming  sections, 
but  not  to  the  same  degree  under  humid  conditions  as 
under  more  arid  conditions. 


76 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


In  discussing  the  details  in  general  through  this  chapter 
we  refer  almost  entirely  to  the  soils  and  conditions  ofthe 
more  arid  section. 

In  the  development  or  promotion  of  many  new  de- 
vices that  came  into  use  simply  as  a  matter  of  convenience 


A  B 

Cut    No.    9.     Summer    Culture   vs.    Summer    Fallow,      (a)    Summer 

Culture  as  Applied  by  the  Campbell  Method,     (b)  Summer 

Fallow  as  Commonly  Applied. 

or  pleasure  or  added  comfort,  great  interest  and  enthu- 
siasm is  not  uncommon.  Again  we  see  books  of  fiction 
put  upon  the  market  that  soon  find  their  way  into  nearly 
all  homes,  simply  for  amusement  or  entertainment. 

Here  comes  a  new  science  that  means  dollars  to  mil- 
lions of  people,  not  in  a  commercial  way  by  which  one 
makes  a  profit  from  another,  but  by  'bringing  more  wealth 
out  of  mother  earth  and  filling  increased  granaries  with 
but  little  extra  expense  beyond  learning  how — and  once 
learning,  you  are  always  in  position  to  command  bigger 
incomes  and  get  them. 


CAMPBELL'S    SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL  77 

Summer  Culture  has  been  confounded  with  Summer 
Fallow,  the  methods  are  so  different  that  any  conclusion 
that  may  have  been  derived  from  Summer  Fallow  exper- 
iments by  our  agricultural  experts  would  not  apply  to 
Summer  Culture;  therefore,  many  of  the  objections  held 
up  or  against  Summer  Fallow  do  not  apply  at  all  to  Sum- 
mer Culture,  The  most  prominent  is  the  rotation  results. 

EXPERIMENTS    IN    ROTATION. 

For  illustration,  take  the  eight  year  rotation  at  the 
South  Dakota  Experiment  Station  under  the  direction 
of  E.  C.  Chilcott  up  to  1906. 

We  would  first  call  attention  to  some  of  the  state- 
ments made  in  the  bulletin  with  reference  to  the  handling 
of  the  ground.  Referring  to  summer  fallow,  they  say  all 
summer  fallowed  plats  are  plowed  in  July  before  any 
weeds  have  ripened  their  seeds,  and  are  plowed  again 
with  the  other  plats  in  the  fall.  They  are  given  no  other 
cultivation  during  the  season. 

Referring  to  the  corn  plats  they  say  corn  is  drilled  in 
rows  one  way.  It  is  given  good  clean  cultivation  with 
the  drag,  weeder  and  cultivator,  each  in  its  proper  season. 
Referring  to  the  preparation  of  the  ground  for  the  various 
plats,  wheat,  oats,  and  barley,  they  say.  "The  plats  are 
plowed  in  the  fall,  usually  in  September,  crosswise  of  the 
series.  This  necessarily  involves  plowing  the  corn  ground 
and  potato  ground.  We  have  found  by  other  experi- 
ments that  where  the  crop  has  been  properly  cultivated 
and  kept  clean  there  is  on  the  average  very  little  difference 
to  be  seen  in  the  following  crop  whether  the  corn  ground 
is  plowed  or  whether  it  is  drilled  in  without  plowing.  The 
ground  is  plowed  at  depths  varying  in  different  years 
from  five  to  seven  inches.  As  early  as  possible  the  in 
spring  the  ground  is  harrowed  twice  with  an  ordinary 
steel  harrow." 


78  CAMBPELL/S    SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL 

From  this  kind  of  fitting  as  stated  for  each  particular 
field  the  following  results  were  obtained.  From  a  seven 
years'  rotation,  wheat  after  corn,  the  average  yield  of 
wheat  was  15.9  bushels.  In  the  rotation  of  wheat  with 
summer  fallow,  same  number  of  years,  the  average  yield 
of  the  wheat  was  15.8.  In  these  rotations  two  sets  of 
plats  were  used  so  that  there  was  a  crop  of  wheat  to  har- 
vest each  year,  making  a  fair  and  apparently  honest  com- 
parison not  only  with  the  results  between  rotating  with 
summer  fallow  or  with  corn,  but  of  these  yields  against 
wheat  continuously. 

Seven  consecutive  crops  of  wheat  on  same  field  showed 
an  average  of  13.7  bushels.  We  wish  to  call  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  rotation  with  corn  or  summer  fallow 
only  gave  a  gain  of  slightly  more  than  two  bushels  per 
acre, 

REAL   SUMMER   CULTURE. 

We  would  also  call  attention  to  the  manner  of  summer 
fallow,  and  as  a  comparison,  note  carefully  our  instruc- 
tions under  the  heading  of  summer  culture. 

Compare  the  above  results  as  taken  from  Bulletin  No. 
98,  South  Dakota  Agricultural  College,  with  the  Pomeroy 
Model  Farm  at  Hill  City,  Kansas,  where  the  results  after 
our  plan  of  summer  culture  in  four  consecutive  years, 
1901  to  1904  inclusive,  the  average  was  over  forty  bushels 
per  acre,  while  wheat  in  the  same  locality,  grown  under 
the  ordinary  methods  of  tillage  averaged  less  than  ten 
bushels.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  above  four  years 
included  the  very  unfavorable  seasons  of  1901  and  1904, 
in  which  a  large  per  cent  of  the  wheat  in  that  locality  was 
a  total  failure.  At  Holdrege,  Nebraska,  which  is  200 
miles  west  of  Omaha,  the  lowest  yield  of  wheat  rotated 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  79 

with  summer  culture  for  three  years  has  been  51  \  bushels, 
and  in  each  case  the  wheat  tested  62J  to  64  pounds  per 
bushel. 

At  Trenton,  Hitchcock  county,  Nebraska,  in  1904, 
where  90  per  cent  of  over  20,000  acres  of  wheat  sown 
was  a  total  failure,  a  field  having  been  summer  tilled  ac- 
cording to  our  plan,  yielded  41  bushels  of  60  pound  wheat. 
We  refer  to  these  very  marked  contrasts  between  the  re- 
sults of  wheat  rotated  with  summer  fallow  and  wheat 
rotated  with  summer  culture  to  show  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly that  there  is  not  only  a  difference  in  methods,  but 
a  very  marked  difference  in  results. 

RESULTS    OF    TILLING. 

At  the  North  Platte  branch  station  of  the  Nebraska 
State  Agricultural  College  a  piece  of  ground  was  summer 
tilled  in  1904,  sowed  to  wheat  that  fall  with  seed  ranging 
from  one-half  bushel  to  one  bushel  per  acre.  The  result 
of  this  excessive  seeding  was  an  enormous  growth  of 
wheat  during  1905.  The  vast  amount  of  fertility  that 
was  made  available  by  the  careful  tillage  of  this  field  in 
1904  resulted  in  an  unusual  amount  of  stooling,  making 
the  wheat  altogether  too  thick,  consequently  straw  was  too 
weak,  and  before  harvest  time  it  all  went  down  flat,  and 
could  not  be  cut  with  a  binder,  neither  could  it  be  cut 
with  a  mower.  This  crop  was  left  on  the  ground,  until  the 
spring  of  1906,  when  it  was  burned  off  and  sowed  to  barley 
and  yielded  62  bushels  per  acre.  This  in  face  of  the  fact 
that  some  plats  fitted  under  the  ordinary  methods  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  and  sowed  to  barley  yielded  practically 
nothing. 

We  could  quote  many  similar  results,  but  what  seems 
a  little  strange  is  that  we  should  have  been  farming  in 
this  country  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  and  yet  no 


80  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

one  got  onto  the  fact  that  by  a  little  different  method  of 
handling  the  soil  three  and  four  ttimes  as  much  grain 
might  be  produced. 

We  do  not  refer  to  South  Dakota  for  any  special  rea- 
son, other  than  it  is  a  fair  illustration  of  work  done  by  all 
the  stations  and  shows  very  conclusively  how  easy  it  is 
to  become  wedded  to  theory  and  beleive  it  to  be  right, 
though  it  may  be  wrong  in  practice. 

DIFFICULTY    OF    EXPERIMENTS. 

Again  we  must  repeat  the  fact  that  soil  culture  is  one 
of  the  most,  if  not  the  most,  complex  science  we  have, 
for  the  reason  that  we  cannot  see  what  is  going  on  in  the 
soil  below  the  surface.  A  certain  thing  done  under  cer- 
tain soil  conditions  will  produce  certain  results,  while  the 
same  mechanical  work  under  slightly  changed  conditions 
will  not  bring  the  same  results  at  all. 

Another  serious  drawback  to  rapid  development  along 
correct  lines  is  the  fact  that  twelve  long  months  are  required 
between  each  experiment.  Then  the  experimenter  may 
follow  out  the  same  line  for  three,  five  or  ten  years,  and 
just  as  he  begins  to  think  he  has  established  a  point  he 
finds  that  what  he  supposed  to  be  the  influencing  element 
has  practically  nothing  to  do  with  the  result. 

We  frequently  find  experimenters  that  have  spent  al- 
most a  lifetime  on  certain  lines  of  experiments  with  con- 
fidence in  the  correctness  of  their  position;  then  through 
some  chain  of  circumstances  find  they  are  wrong  and 
change  their  tactics  entirely.  To  us  it  seems  almost 
ridiculous  for  the  average  farmer  to  attempt  to  conduct 
any  experiment  in  soil  tillage  with  a  hope  of  new  and 
valuable  light.  Let  him  rather  spend  his  efforts  in  proving 
what  those  with  facilities  have  worked  out. 

Theory  is  one  thing,  a  practical  demonstrated  fact  is 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  81 

quite  another.  What  the  farmer  wants  to  know  is  how 
he  can  get  the  largest  profit  from  his  farm  in  a  series  of 
years.  If  he  be  a  stock  grower  it  matters  little  how  sci- 
entific he  may  be  in  the  handling  and  feeding  of  his  stock — 
if  his  crop  is  short  his  profits  are  proportionately  short. 

AVERAGE-  GRAIN    YIELD. 

If  he  depends  upon  the  sale  of  fodders  and  grains  for 
profits,  then  his  profits  are  very  materially  increased  by 
even  a  slight  increase  in  yield.  For  illustration,  the  aver- 
age yield  per  acre  of  wheat  for  the  following  states  for 
twelve  years,  1893  to  to  1904  inclusive,  was:  Illinois,  13.3 
bushels;  Minnesota,  14  bushels;  North  Dakota,  12.6 
bushels;  South  Dakota,  10.2  bushels;  Nebraska,  13.5 
bushels;  and  Kansas,  12.3  bushels. 

Now  suppose  a  farmer  raises  about  the  average  or  13 
bushels,  from  this  must /come  all  the  expense  of  raising, 
threshing,  interest  on  land,  investment  or  rental,  wear 
and  tear,  or  use  of  teams  and  tools,  and  when  you  figure 
up  as  above  and  balance  your  account  there  is  practically 
nothing  left  for  the  farmer. 

Thirteen  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  is  about  one-fourth 
of  the  producing  powers  of  any  of  the  good  lands  in  all 
of  the  above  states,  or  any  other  similar  lands,  and  less 
than  one-third  of  the  smallest  yield  we  have  gotten  fol- 
lowing summer  tilling,  where  the  work  was  properly  done 
in  any  one  year  during  the  past  seven  years.  Supposing 
that  the  farmer  doubles  the  13  bushels,  the  last  13  bushels 
is  nearly  all  profit,  except  the  cost  of  threshing  and  mar- 
keting. All  that  is  necessary  to  get  this  increased  yield 
is  to  get  the  soil  into  a  more  scientific  or  correct  physical 
condition,  and  when  this  same  amount  of  labor  that  was 
required  to  fit  the  soil  for  the  13  bushel  crop  is  applied. 


82  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

not  foolishly  and  recklessly,  but  at  the  right  time  and  in 
the  right  manner,  there  is  needed  but  little  more  extra 
work. 

Let  us  go  a  little  further,  and  with  just  a  little  more 
extra  labor,  and  only  a  little,  put  in  scientifically,  and  we 
will  get  three  times  the  13  bushel  yield  or  39  bushels, 
and  yet  a  little  more  labor  and  four  times  the  amountr 
or  52  bushels  can  be  grown.  This  has  been  done — yes. 
and  as  high  as  63  and  over — in  several  instances,  and  the 
60  bushel  point  can  be  easily  reached  in  many  places, 
if  the  principles  we  shall  outline  are  carefully  followed. 
Think  of  it  a  moment — four  and  a-half  times  as  much  as 
the  average  of  all  these  states  for  twelve  years. 

HOW    SUMMER    TILLING    SHOULD    BE    DONE. 

Begin  the  work  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  frost  is 
sufficiently  out  of  the  ground,  and  the  surface  dry  enough 
to  permit  the  use  of  the  disk  harrow  without  the  soil  ad- 
hering to  the  disk,  going  over  the  ground  twice  by  lapping 
the  disk  one  half.  This  produces  a  mulch  which  prevents 
evaporation;  also  loosens  and  opens  the  surface,  so  that 
the  later  rains  readily  and  quickly  percolate  into  the  soil, 
harrowing  the  ground  after  each  subsequent  rain.  If  the 
rain  is  too  heavy  so  as  to  dissolve  and  pack  the  surface, 
a  second  disking  may  be  necessary,  especially  so  if  the 
season  is  advanced  far  enough  for  weeds  to  start  freely. 
Don't  at  all  hazards  permit  the  weeds  to  grow  or  the  sur- 
ace  to  become  crusted.  A  little  carelessness  here  may 
and  often  does  make  ten  or  twenty  bushels  less  yield  in 
wheat,  and  proportionally  similar  losses  to  other  crops. 

Bear  in  mind  there  are  three  objects  in  conducting 
this  work  with  great  care.  First,  is  to  retain  all  the  moist- 
ure possible  that  may  be  then  in  the  soil,  for  the  evapora- 
tion in  early  spring  is  very  great  from  both  the  strong  rays 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  83 

of  the  sun,  and  in  most  localities  the  high  spring  winds 
take  up  much  moisture.  Second,  is  to  loosen  the  surface 
that  it  may  more  readily  and  more  surely  take  in  all  the 
water  from  the  spring  rains.  Third,  but  by  no  means 
least,  to  admit  the  warm  spring  air  that  nature's  labora- 
tory may  be  put  early  to  work  preparing  the  way  for  large 
quantities  of  available  fertility  or  plant  elements.  Plow 
late  in  June  or  early  July,  seven  to  eight  inches  deep.  Do 
not  leave  the  field  at  noon  until  that  which  has  been 
plowed  during  the  forenoon  has  been  gone  over  with  the 
sub-surface  packer.  Then  at  night  the  same,  and  if  you 
use  the  packer  follow  it  with  some  kind  of  a  harrow  or 
cultivator  that  will  leave  the  surface  witti  a  light  loose 
mulch,  breaking  the  larger  clods  and  leveling,  so  far  as  it 
may  be  possible,  the  top  of  the  firm  soil  beneath. 

The  common  lever  harrow  produces  very  fair  condi- 
tions. There  are,  however,  three  or  four  much  improved 
devices  for  this  work  being  perfected,  which  will  doubtless 
be  found  on  the  market  very  soon. 

KEEP  AHEAD  OF  THE  WEEDS. 

In  June  and  July  weeds  are  quite  persistent  and  great 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  let  them  get  the  start.  In 
fact  there  is  but  little  danger  of  weeds  if  you  take  care 
to  lose  no  water  by  evaporation.  All  weeds  are  easily 
killed  when  small,  but  after  the  tap  root  has  gone  down 
and  become  firmly  imbedded,  it  is  not  easy  to  destroy 
them.  Watch  the  condition  of  your  field,  going  over  it 
as  soon  after  a  heavy  rain  as  the  soil  will  permit,  using 
the  tool  .  which  you  use  to  keep  your  mulch  open 
and  loose;  care  should  be  taken  to  keep  the  mulch  from 
two  and  a-half  to  three  inches  deep.  Remember,  it  is 
not  desirable  to  have  this  mulch  too  fine,  and  never  a  dust 
blanket.  It  will  be  found  very  much  easier  to  secure  a 


mulch  of  desirable  coarseness,  if  the  cultivating  is  done 
after  rains  when  the  surface  soil  has  reached  the  moist 
condition,  not  wet,  and  yet  before  it  gets  dry.  Continue 
this  persistent  care  through  the  season;  in  case  of  extreme 
heat  more  frequent  cultivation  is  necessary.  Our  rule  is 
to  watch  carefully  the  firm  soil  just  beneath  the  mulch 
and  gauge  our  time  of  cultivation  during  continued  dry 
periods  by  the  quantity  of  apparent  moisture,  observed 
at  the  top  of  the  firm  soil  beneath  the  mulch,  or  if  we 
move  the  loose  soil  away  and  find  there  is  ajnple  moisture, 
the  protection  is  all  right.  If  the  top  is  beginning  to  show 
dry,  then  it  is  time  to  cultivate  again. 

EARLY    SPRING    WORK. 

If  desirable  to  put  in  spring  crops,  it  is  a  good  idea  to 
thoroughly  disk  the  ground  as  it  goes  into  the  winter. 
This  will  bring  some  of  the  moist  firm  soil  to  the  top  and 
better  protect  from  winds,  also  leaving  the  surface  mc.'e 
uneven,  to  catch  the  snow,  if  in  a  country  where  snow- 
storms are  looked  for. 

In  the  early  spring,  as  soon  as  spring  conditions  will 
permit,  the  ground  should  be  gone  over  for  the  purpose 
of  reestablishing  the  soil  mulch.  Should  the  snows  and 
rains  have  been  ample  to  have  considerably  packed  the 
surface,  the  disk  harrow  may  of  necessity  have  to  be  used, 
although  much  depends  on  the  kind  of  a  harrow  or  culti- 
vator you  may  have.  These  are  points  of  which  the 
precise  how  cannot  be  specified;  get  the  idea,  then  use 
good  judgment  as  to  the  how  and  when,  and  the  kind  of 
tool. 

In  case  of  fall  seeding  to  winter  wheat,  rye  or  oats, 
care  should  be  taken,  especially  in  the  more  arid  sections 
where  fall  rains  of  any  magnitude  are  less  probable,  to 
have  at  least  two  inches  and  a-half  of  fine  loose  soil  on  the 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  85 

Surface,  and  if  the  seed  bed  is  made  fine  and  firm,  as  above 
outlined,  not  more  than  one-third  of  the  usual  amount 
of  seed  is  necessary.  Under  these  conditions  place  the 
seed  from  a  half  to  one  inch  into  the»fine  firm  soil,  not  over 
that,  and  by  all  means  if  you  are  getting  a  new  drill,  pur- 
chase the  closed  heel  shoe  drill  or  some  drill  that  will  leave 
the  seed  in  firm  soil. 

SECURING    IDEAL    CONDITIONS. 

Cut  No.  16  represents  the  most  ideal  soil  conditions  and 
shows  the  effect  of  depositing  the  seed  in  its  proper  place, 
with  the  closed  heel  shoe  drill,  the  principal  advantages 
of  which  are  set  forth  in  the  chapter  on  wheat  growing. 

While  our  methods  of  summer  culture  involve  some 
little  extra  work  over  the  old  or  more  common  methods 
of  summer  fallow  or  general  preparation  for  crops;  yet 
you  must  consider  fully  and  carefully  two  points.  First, 
that  the  object  of  summer  culture  is  not  only  to  store 
ample  moisture  below  so  that  we  may  be  able  to .  carry 
our  next  crop  through  to  maturity,  no  matter  how  dry  the 
season  may  be  without  ill  effect  from  the  droughty  condi- 
tion, but  further  to  provide  and  steadily  maintain  such 
an  ideal  physical  condition  of  the  soil  during  the  entire 
spring  and  summer,  as  shall  permit  of  a  most  liberal 
development  of  bacteria  and  nitrate  or  available  fertility,  in 
order  that  we  may  grow  and  mature  a  very  large  crop  of 
whatever  we  plant,  no  matter  what  the  season  may  be. 

What  we  mean  by  a  very  large  crop  is,  two  and  three 
times  as  much  as  the  average  farmer  has  been  producing 
per  acre  by  the  old  or  more  common  methods.  Can  this 
be  done?  Yes;  and  we  have  proven  it  by  repeated  results 
each  year  during  seven  consecutive  years;  beginning  with 


86  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

the  year  1900,  increasing  the  certainty  and  magnitude  of 
these  yields  as  we  learned  more  of  the  correct  principles 
in  detail. 

CLIMATE    NOT    RESPONSIBLE. 

It  is  altogether  too  common  an  idea  that  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  the  crop  depends  upon  climatic  conditions. 
This  does  not  apply  to  the  semi-arid  belt.  The  success 
of  the  farmer  depends  entirely  upon  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  the  grains  and  vegetables  he  raises.  Under  the 
ordinary  plan  of  farming  the  expense  of  preparing,  plant- 
ing and  cultivating  is  just  the  same  whether  we  get  fifty 
bushels  of  corn  or  five  bushels  or  none  at  all.  If  we  pro- 
ceed properly  the  necessary  labor  may  be  fifty  per  cent 
more,  but  even  if  it  were  double  and  we  succeed  in  getting 
thirty  to  sixty  bushels  of  wheat  in  seasons  when  our 
neighbors  under  ordinary  conditions  get  five  or  ten,  does 
it  pay?  If  we  are  able  to  get  eighty  bushels  of  corn  when 
our  neighbor  gets  thirty,  does  it  pay? 

By  holding  the  moisture  near  the  surface  during  the 
heated  portions  of  the  season  we  succeed  in  securing  a 
more  complete  decomposition  of  the  vegetable  matter  in 
our  soil,  passing  it  on  to  the  stage  known  as  humus,  which 
is  a  most  valuable  element  in  the  soil.  The  more  humus 
we  have  the  greater  amount  of  moisture  we  can  hold  in 
the  ground.  This,  coupled  with  the  amount  of  moisture 
that  we  are  able  to  store,  and  the  improvement  of  the 
physical  condition  of  the  soil  by  the  disking,  plowing  and 
frequent  cultivation  in  our  summer  culture,  brings  about 
four  conditions  By  the  very  fine,  compact  condition, 
our  soil  will  hold  more  water,  consequently  our  plant  is 
less  liable  to  suffer  from  a  lack  of  water  during  extreme 
heat.  This  packed  condition  is  also,  from  the  fact  of  the 
more  minute  pores  in  the  soil,  favorable  to  a  more  rapid 


CAMBPELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  87 

movement  of  moisture  by  capillary  attraction,  and  last 
but  not  least,  conducive  to  a  more  prolific  growth,  and  a 
more  general  and  uniform  distribution  of  the  roots. 

Fourth,  and  by  no  means  least,  is  the  fact  that  under 
this  condition  of  the  soil,  we  are  able  to  carry  in  the  soil 
just  the  proper  quantity  of  both  air  and  water,  which 
together  with  the  heat,  brings  about  that  certain  chemical 
action  necessary  for  the  development  of  the  large  quanti- 
ties of  fertility.  When  the  pores  in  the  soil  are  too  large 
and  soil  coarse  and  loose,  too  much  air  is  prevalent  and 
little  or  no  development  of  plant  elements  is  possible. 
All  four  of  these  conditions  are  exceedingly  important 
in  seasons  like  that  of  1901,  when  weeks  go  by  with  con- 
tinuous extreme  heat  and  no  rain,  and  such  seasons  or 
conditions  always  come  without  warning. 

POSSIBILITIES    IN    THE    SEMI-ARID    COUNTRY. 

It  is  our  opinion,  based  on  practical  results  and  ob- 
servation of  conditions  similar  to  those  in  western  Kansas 
that  by  the  summer  culture  plan,  storing  the  water  the 
entire  season  and  raising  crops  the  following  year,  much 
larger  average  crops  may  be  grown  than  the  present  aver- 
age in  Iowa  or  Illinois.  In  fact,  we  do  not  believe  we 
overdraw  when  we  say  that  in  the  more  arid  portions  of  the 
semi-arid  belt,  by  the  summer  culture  plan,  only  cropping 
every  other  year,  we  can  raise  more  wheat  at  less  cost 
in  ten  years  than  can  be  grown  in  the  more  humid  portions 
of  the  belt  in  ten  consecutive  crops  by  the  ordinary  plan. 
By  our  method  we  have  the  advantage  of  only  seeding 
half  the  land  and  only  harvesting  half  the  land.  The 
great  value  of  work  along  this  line  lies  in  grasping  fully 
the  idea  of  storing  and  conserving  the  rain  waters,  and 
studying  carefully  the  necessary  physical  condition  of  the 
soil  and  endeavoring  to  bring  it  to  the  highest  degree  of 
perfection. 


sS  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

If  water  is  stored  in  the  soil  of  our  western  prairies, 
nature  has  formed  perfect  and  complete  conditions  to 
bring  this  moisture  back  by  capillary  attraction  to  that 
stratum,  or  one  known  as  the  root  bed,  where  it  not  only 
plays  its  part  as  drink  for  the  plant,  but  as  above  stated 
to  keep  up  its  part  in  combination  with  other  elements 
in  the  development  of  available  plant  elements,  upon 
which  the  plant  not  only  exists  but  thrives  during  pro- 
longed dry  periods,  causing  a  prolific  growth  instead  of 
withering  and  sometimes  total  failure  under  the  coarser 
or  more  common  conditions  of  the  soil. 

OF    UNIVERSAL    APPLICATION. 

In  fact,  when  the  conditions  are  understood  and  the 
necessary  labor  properly  applied,  records  of  phenomenal 
yields  will  be  numerous  as  far  west  as  the  foot  hills  of  the 
Rockies. 

The  following  from  E.  F.  Stevens,  of  the  Crete  nursery, 
shows  the  value  of  summer  culture,  even  in  the  more 
humid  portions  of  the  semi-arid  belt.  He  says:  " Regard- 
ing the  possibility  of  carrying  moisture  conserved  one 
year  over  into  the  next  season  for  use  for  the  next  crop, 
we  remember  that  one  year  we  grew  a  crop  of  seedlings 
on  elevated  tahle  lands  on  a  part  of  the  divide  between 
the  Blue  and  Salt  creek,  just  southeast  of  Crete.  Seed- 
lings for  their  best  growth  require  very  frequent  culti- 
vation. They  are  cultivated  weekly  and  oft  times  twice 
a  week,  to  secure  the  best  possible  growth  and  the  best 
grade  obtainable  in  a  few  months.  This  superior  culture 
conserved  moisture,  but  we  did  not  so  understand  it  then. 
As  a  rule  a  crop  of  seedlings  does  not  take  up  all  the  annual 
rainfall,  so  quite  a  portion  of  this  conserved  moisture 
was  carried  over  until  the  next  season.  The  following 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  89 

year  on  this  plat  of  ground  previously  devoted  to  seed- 
lings, as  above  stated,  we  secured  105  bushels  and  forty 
pounds  of  corn  per  acre." 

This  marvelous  yield  referred  to  by  Mr.  Stevens  is  the 
direct  result  of  the  careful  cultivation  which  resulted  in 
storing  a  large  surplus  of  moisture,  and  it  is  fair  and  rea- 
sonable to  conclude  that  equally  as  good,  if  not  better, 
results  may  be  gained  in  any  portion  of  Nebraska,  Kansas, 
or  western  Iowa  and  Missouri,  by  following  our  plan  of 
summer  culture. 

To  get  the  best  results  the  farmer's  mind  must  be  clear 
on  three  important  points:  That  the  ground  must  be  in 
proper  condition  when  all  his  work  is  done  on  the  soil; 
that  he  must  have  a  good,  fine  and  firm  root  bed  or  seed 
and  an  abundance  of  moisture  stored  below. 

A    REMARKABLE    ILLUSTRATION. 

In  closing  this  chapter  it  may  be  very  interesting  as 
well  as  very  conclusive  evidence  of  the  correctness  of  our 
claims,  to  give  a  few  of  the  very  marked  conditions  that 
surrounded  some  of, the  fields  of  wheat  in  the  spring  of 
1904  on  the  Pomeroy  Model  Farm  at  Hill  City,  Kansas, 
during  the  long  continued  early  drouth.  When  most 
fields  under  ordinary  methods  of  cultivation  were  showing 
no  growth  and  no  apparent  moisture,  the  Model  farm 
wheat  was  making  rapid  growth  carrying  a  dark  green 
color,  while  five  feet  of  moisture  was  found  below.  An- 
other field  near  Grainfield,  Kansas,  was  in  the  same  con- 
dition; another  near  Champion,  Nebraska,  and  another 
near  Trenton,  Nebraska.  The  latter  yielded  forty-one 
bushels  per  acre,  while  ninety  per  cent  of  the  entire  wheat 
crop  in  that  localitv  was  a  total  failure.  Every  wheat 
field  in  western  Nebraska  and  Kansas  might  have  yielded 
as  much  as  the  Trenton  field  had  the  land  been  treated 


00  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

by  our  method  and  the  heavy  rains  of  1903  stored  in  the 
soil  and  reserved  for  the  long  dry  spring  of  1904.  Do 
not  confound  summer  culture  with  summer  fallowing. 
They  are  different. 

Summer  culture  previous  to  seeding  to  alfalfa  will  in- 
sure a  positive  and  even  catch  and  a  fair  crop  the  first 
season. 

Summer  culture  for  the  storing  of  the  rain  waters  in 
the  soil,  although  comparatively  new  as  outlined,  is  a  most 
important  adjunct  in  farming  in  the  West. 

Begin  your  summer  culture  as  early  in  the  spring  as 
the  conditions  will  let  you  on  the  ground  with  your  disk 
harrow.  Don't  let  the  weeds  grow,  thinking  they  are 
valuable  as  a  fertilizer  to  turn  under.  The  moisture  they 
take  from  the  ground  is  worth  far  more  to  you  in  growing 
the  next  crop. 

The  purposes  of  summer  culture  are  many,  but  the 
most  prominent  of  all  that  it  never  fails  to  bring  about  to 
a  most  marvelous  degree  is  to  change  a  field  of  very  normal 
crop  growing  ability  to  one  of  almost  incomprehensible 
producing  powers  in  just  ordinary  seasons.  So  marked 
are  the  results  that  all  sorts  of  doubting  Thomases  appear 
and  present  many  theories,  but  we  urge  the  student  to 
throw  away  all  skeptical  influences.  Study  well  the  prin- 
ciples and  apply  them  with  as  much  correctness  as  pos- 
sible and  draw  your  own  conclusion  as  to  certainty  of 
results  and  causes  of  results. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  91 


CHAPTER  XI. 


PHYSICAL  CONDITION  OF  THE  SOIL. 

By  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  we  refer  to  the 
proper  preparation  and  that  final  condition  of  the  soil  that 
so  completely  regulates  or  governs  its  producing  powers. 

There  is  no  subject  less  understood  toda}^  and  there  is 
no  one  branch  of  agricultural  science  so  vital  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  farmer  as  a  thorough  knowledge  of  soil  physics. 

The  man  who  delves  down  into  the  very  heart  of  this 
subject  and  follows  every  line  and  branch  until  he  ferrets 
out  all  the  dark  secrets  of  controlling  and  utilizing  na- 
ture's great  resources  now  lying  dormant  in  our  great 
prairies,  will  do  more  for  suffering  humanity  than  any 
half  dozen  men  have  ever  yet  done. 

It  is  our  candid  opinion  that  when  this  is  accomplished, 
grain  will  be  produced  so  much  cheaper  because  of  the 
greatly  increased  yield  per  acre,  that  bread  will  be  pro- 
vided at  much  less  than  the  present  cost. 

Millions  are  being  spent  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment in  building  enormous  reservoirs  and  miles  of  expen- 
sive ditches,  and  millions  more  in  scanning  other  coun- 
tries far  and  wide  for  improved  plants  and  seeds,  but  all 
this  combined  cannot  provide  as  many  prosperous  farmers 
or  cheapen  the  cost  of  production  like  the  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  soil  physics  and  soil  culture. 

It  is  appalling  to  think  that  we  have  so  many  men 
who  know  all  about  the  soil  and  its  tillage,  or  think  they 


92  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTUKE  MANUAL 

do,  and  yet  so  very  little  has  been  accomplished  in 
increasing  the  average  yield  of  our  great  and  magnificent 
prairies. 

The  average  yield  of  all  grains  in  Nebraska  and  Kansas 
in  1906  was  from  15  to  30  per  cent  greater  than  any  one 
previous  year  in  the  past  twenty  years.  Many  say 
this  is  due  to  more  favorable  climatic  conditions,  but  this 
is  not  wholly  true.  A  good  portion  is  due  to  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  soils  and  how  to  till  them;  and  yet  it  is 
possible  by  a  still  more  comprehensive  knowledge  of  these 
soils  and  what  physical  condition  it  is  necessary  to  reach  to- 
gether with  the  how,  when  and  where,  to  attain  that  de- 
gree that  we  may  be  able  to  liberate  and  utilize  all  na- 
tures' resources.  We  shall  then  see  the  average  yield  as 
shown  in  the  above  states  in  1906,  easily  doubled,  and 
what  is  true  of  these  states  is  proportionately  true  of  all 
other  similar  states.  Why  this  subject,  so  vital  to  the 
the  welfare  of  our  country,  has  been  so  neglected  in  the 
past  we  cannot  comprehend. 

There  will  be  some  little  gained  by  seed  breeding  and 
seed  selection  and  a  little  by  acclimating  plants,  a  little 
by  crop  rotation,  but  not  until  rotation  is  better 
understood  than  it  is  now.  Possibly  some  -material  gain 
may  be  made  by  the  introduction  of  the  so-called  drouth- 
resisting  plants.  But  the  great  and  lasting  change  that 
is  certainly  on  its  way,  must  come  through  a  broader 
and  more  practical  knowledge  of  soil  physics. 

FORCES    THAT    AWAIT    DEVELOPMENT., 

Few  tillers  of  the  soil  realize  how  easily  the  silent 
forces  that  lie  beneath  our  feet  within  this  inert  soil  over 
which  we  walk  and  have  been  taught  to  almost  shun,  can 
by  timely  direction  and  control  be  made  to  minister  unto 
us  by  yielding  up  from  mother  earth  bountiful  crops.  Sad 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  93 

indeed  it  is  that  so  many  through  a  chain  of  circumstances 
have  been  led  to  look  upon  farming,  especially  the  actual 
tillage  of  the  soil,  as  wearisome  toil,  uncertain  of  its  re- 
ward. 

If  they  could  be  only  made  to  see  that  kind  Provi 
dence  has  intended  that  man  should  have  dominion  over 
all  things,  and  set  themselves  at  work  to  learn  how  they 
may  intelligently  command  nature's  resources  that  certain 
obedience  may  be  secured,  then  toil  would  be  changed  to 
healthful,  inspiring,  agreeable  work. 

We  wish  to  prove  to  you  that  nature  has  provided 
all  necessary  elements  on  these  broad,  level  prairies  of 
the  semi-arid  belt  to  grow  cereals,  vegetables,  forage  and 
fruits  in  such  quantities  and  of  such  quality  as  to  make 
the  most  sanguine  minds  marvel,  when  proper  tillage  is 
applied. 

To  do  this  the  tiller  of  the  soil  must  learn  what  to  do; 
when  to  do  it,  how  to  do  it,  and  why  he  works  the  soil 
by  this  method  which  enables  nature  to  reveal  all  the  pos- 
sibilities she  stores  in  this  workshop  for  an  unlimited 
supply  of  crop  material.  We  will  show  you  that  it  does 
not  require  a  vast  amount  of  hard  and  expensive  labor 
to  get  large  results,  but  it  does  require  effort  with  knowl- 
edge and  judgment.  Just  as  a  valuable  machine  may  be 
made  powerless  and  useless  by  the  wrong  or  slack  adjust- 
ment of  some  bolt  or  nut,  so  in  the  mechanical  preparation 
of  the  soil  success  in  the  highest  degree  depends  on  doing 
the  right  thing  at  the  right  time  and  in  the  right  manner. 
You  could  not  put  a  valuable  machine  together  unless 
you  knew  something  of  mechanics.  You  cannot  properly 
till  the  soil  and  extract  from  it  all  that  nature  has  stored 
there  for  your  use  unless  you  understand  some  of  the  sim- 
ple rules  of  soil  physics, 


94  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTUKE  MANUAL 

Much  misleading  matter  has  been  printed  on  the  sub- 
ject of  soil  physics  and  in  discussing  available  soil  fertility. 
Professor  Milton  Whitney,  chief  of  the  bureau  of  soils, 
United  States  department  of  Agriculture,  says  in  Bulletin 
No.  22,  issued  by  the  department,  "That  there  is  no  apparent 
relation  between  the  chemical  composition  of  the  soil  as 
determined  by  the  methods  of  analysis  used,  and  the 
yields  of  crops;  but  that  the  chief  factor  determining  the 
yield  is  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  under  suitable 
climatic  conditions." 

It  is  our  candid  opinion,  based  on  more  than  twenty 
years'  of  observation  and  experience,  that  it  is  to  the 
highest  interest  to  the  farmer  to  give  little  attention  to 
the  chemical  properties  of  his  soil  until  he  has  learned 
well  and  carefully  its  necessary  physical  condition  in  order 
that  he  may  utilize  nature's  many  elements  and  forces 
found  in  the  soil,  also  in  the  air,  water,  heat  and  light. 

The  general  properties  of  the  component  parts  of  the 
average  high  level  prairies  of  the  semi-arid  belt  are  all 
that  could  be  desired.  In  the  cultivation  of  these  soils 
every  precaution  should  be  taken  to  prevent  at  any  and 
all  times  during  the  year  any  loss  of  moisture  by  evapora- 
tion. It  is  highly  important  that  these  soils  never  be 
allowed  to  dry  out.  Upon  this  fact  depends  much. 

Roberts  in  his  book  on  the  " Fertility  of  the  Land," 
says:  "The  percolation  of  rain  waters  not  only  conserves 
the  plant  food  but  improves  the  physical  condition  of  the 
land.  Just  as  soon  as  the  soil  becomes  depleted  of  its 
moisture  it  becomes  dead  or  dormant  and  life  ceases." 

TIME    TO    WORK    THE    SOIL. 

In  order  to  secure  the  best  possible  physical  condition, 
the  greatest  care  should  be  exercised  to  do  the  plowing, 
packing  and  cultivating  while  the  soil  is  moist-  When  the 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  95 

soil  is  moist,  as  all  observing  farmers  know,  the  soil  grains 
more  readily  separate  one  from  the  other.  The  real  or 
desirable  object  of  plowing  is  not  simply  to  turn  the  soil 
over,  but  in  addition  to  turning  the  soil  is  the  pulverizing 
The  more  thoroughly  this  is  done  the  better  opportunity 
the  heat,  air  and  moisture  have  to  exercise  their  full  power 
to  combine  all  the  properties  into  plant  foods  so  that  they 
may  be  available  to  the  plant. 

So  far  as  we  can  grasp  the  true  principles  regarding  the 
necessary  physical  conditions,  they  are  found  in  recogniz- 
ing the  following  facts,  viz: 

First — That  fertility  is  not  matter,  or  a  substance, 
or  something  that  exists  in  the  soil  in  given  quantities 
and  makes  plants  grow  if  the  seed  is  put  in  the  soil,  regard- 
less of  how  it  is  tilled  or  fitted. 

Second — That  the  growth  of  all  plants  dependsp  uon 
the  quantity  and  force  or  energy  of  the  available  fertility, 
and  this  is  great  or  small  just  in  proportion  to  the  phys- 
ical or  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil. 

Third — That  the  soil  is  nature's  laboratory,  where 
the  proportion  of  air  and  water  may  be  combined  in  just 
the  proper  quantities.  If  the  soils  are  too  coarse  and  lie 
too  loose,  then  there  is  too  much  air  for  the  water  the  soil 
can  hold,  and  with  the  most  ideal  climatic  conditions 
only  fairly  good  crops  can  possibly  be  grown. 

Fourth — That  water  is  a  vital  element  in  all  vegetable 
growth,  but  it  is  not  the  only  element  that  the  tiller  of  the 
soil  must  see  to.  Air  is  equally  important,  and  in  all 
tillage,  air  must  be  recognized  and  the  soil  prepared  with 
an  eye  to  utilizing  it  just  as  nature  demands.  Give  nature 
a  chance  and  she  will  do  wonders,  but  don't  expect  too 
much  without  some  intelligent  effort  on  your  part. 


96  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

The  plants  under  proper  conditions  show  a  dark,  healthy 
green  color,  and  grows  rapidly.  Remember  that  the  root 
growth  in  all  grains  is  always  in  excess  of  the  plant  above 
ground,  and  that  root  growth  is  greatest  in  soil  that  is  fine 
and  firm  in  which  there  is  held  all  the  moisture  than  can 
be  carried  by  capillary  force,  and  that  it  is  apparently 
impossible  by  ordinary  mechanical  work  to  ^et  the  average 
sand  loam  soil  in  the  great  semi-arid  section  so  firm  that 
it  cannot  carry  at  the  same  time  the  necessary  amount 
of  air. 

PERFECT    SOIL    CONDITIONS. 

Let  us  assume  for  further  illustration  or  explanation 
that  we  have  just  the  ideal  condition  for  holding  and 
carrying  the  proper  quantity  of  air  and  water  in  the  soil. 
The  sun  is  warming  the  soils,  chemical  action  is  doing  its 
work,  the  wheat,  oats  or  barley  is  three  or  four  inches  high, 
a  rain  comes  of  some  little  magnitude  which  dissolves 
and  packs  the  soil  mulch  on  the  surface,  then  the  sun 
comes  out  and  the  plants  improve  for  a  little  time,  but  at 
this  point  look  out,  for  we  are  approaching  the  danger 
point,  not  of  the  total  loss  of  the  crop  but  of  getting  the 
highest  possible  yield,  which  should  be  our  aim  at  all 
times. 

If  by  certain  more  carefully  fitted  soil  conditions,  you 
can  get  50  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  instead  of  10  to  20 
bushels  per  acre,  is  it  not  worth  digging  for? 

This  is  no  visionary  or  imposible  thought,  but  a  stern 
truth,  that  only  requires  a  little  careful  study  and  intelli- 
gent application,  after  first  stepping  away  from  those  old, 
stubborn  prejudices,  that  theory  alone  had  prompted  you 
to  cling  so  tenaciously  to. 

The  packing  of  the  surface  by  the  rain  will  cause  an 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  97 

upward  movement  of  moisture  which  is  brought  from  the 
root  zone  or  stratum  by  capillary  attraction  to  the  surface 
and  evaporated. 

The  warm  sun  has  set  the  vigorous  plant  to  work 
pumping  water  by  means  of  its  many  little  rootlets  up 
through  the  stalk  and  out  the  leaf.  With  these  two  forces 
at  work  your  moisture  is  soon  depleted  below  the  normal, 
and  chemical  action  becomes  slower. 

Another  dangerous  factor  is  also  at  work,  the  moisture 
that  is  rising  to  the  surface  is  carrying  with  it  the  mag- 
nesia, alkalies  and  salts  so  prevalent  in  our  prairie  soils, 
in  a  soluble  or  dissolved  condition,  and  as  they  reach  the 
surface  the  moisture  is  lost  in  vapor. 

These  mineral  substances  are  deposited  between  the 
surface  soil  grains,  and  if  this  process  go^s  on  long  enough 
the  surface  becomes  solid  and  the  air  nearly  or  quite  ex- 
cluded. The  moment  this  condition  becomes  general 
practically  all  growth  ceases  from  a  lack  of  air  though 
there  may  be  plenty  of  moisture.  Therefore  the  vital 
importance  of  harrowing  this  surface  as  explained  in  other 
chapters. 

The  Cut  No  9  on  page  76  illustrates  quite  clearly  the 
ideal  physical  condition  as  compared  with  the  more  com- 
mon haphazard  manner.  Study  the  two  views  carefully, 
and  think  of  what  you  have  seen  in  the  field  and  how 
different  were  the  results. 

It  is  our  opinion  that  upon  this  ideal  physical  condi- 
tion of  the  soil  grains  as  shown  in  the  above  cut,  as  well 
as  others  shown  in  previous  chapters,  depends  very  largely 
the  magnitude  and  quality  of  the  crop.  This  conclusion 
is  not  based  on  theory,  but  upon  results  obtained  in  many 
tests  following  these  lines. 


98  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

We  have  invariably  found  growth  most  rapid  and  the 
plants  most  healthful  when  the  soil  was  fine  and  firm 
where  the  roots  were  growing,  with 'the  surface  two  inches 
or  more  loose  and  open,  and  ample  moisture  stored  below 
to  a  depth  of  four  or  more  feet,  and  this  so  long  as  there 
is  the  required  quantity  of  air  and  water  in  that  portion 
beneath  the  mulch  where  the  principal  feeding  roots  are 
located.  By  the  aid  of  heat  chemical  action  is  going  on 
and  fertility  is  being  made  available  in  large  quantities. 
Now  the  great  point  is  to  keep  up  this  kind  of  condition, 
if  it  can  be  done  through  the  growing  season.  Phenom- 
enal results  are  sure  to  come,  if  there  is  not  too  much  seed, 
or  some  fungus  or  insect  pest  at  hand.  Too  much  seed 
is  very  commonly  the  cause  of  a  yield  below  the  possible 
result  on  soil  ideally  fitted  and  especially  is  this  true  of 
oats  and  wheat. 


CAMPBELL'S  SBIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  99 


CHAPTER  XII. 


SOIL  FERTILITY. 

That  which  every  farmer  tries  to  do  is  to  cause  his 
land  to  bring  forth  good  crops.  All  his  labor  leads  up 
to  the  harvest  time.  His  whole  reckoning  is  prelimi- 
nary to  market  results. 

So  it  is  that  when  the  farmer  or  the  home  seeker  goes 
out  to  consider  whether  he  shall  buy  a  given  tract  of 
land,  the  question  that  is  uppermost  in  his  mind  relates 
to  the  crop  producing  qualities  of  the  soil.  Everyone 
knows  that  some  soils  are  better  than  others  and  that 
there  are  soils  which  seemingly  are  not  of  any  use  at  all 
in  crop  production.  Then  it  is  also  fairly  well  known 
that  land  cultivated  in  the  best  possible  manner  may  be- 
come better  with  the  years,  while  land  poorly  cared  for 
may  rapidly  lose  what  little  value  it  had  in  its  wild  state. 

The  ordinary  or  average  tiller  of  the  soil  has  very  little 
knowledge  of  the  scientific  principles  which  are  involved 
in  this  distinction.  It  is  not  surprising,  either,  for  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  those  who  have  made  a  specialty  of  the 
scientific  study  of  soils,  who  have  spent  much  time  and 
money  in  experimental  work,  and  who  have  been  able 
to  collect  the  information  brought  out  by  hundreds  of 
others  who  have  gone  before — these  specialists  are  not  at 
all  agreed  as  to  very  many  of  the  essential  points  in  regard 
to  the  soil.  The  best  of  these  are  quite  prepared  to  mod- 
ify their  views  at  any  time. 

With  the  scientific  investigations  we  have  little  con- 
cern. It  is  with  results  that  we  have  to  deal. 


100  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

This  fact  must  be  kept  in  mind  that,  speaking  in 
every-day  terms,  there  is  a  distinction  between  fertility 
and  available  fertility.  Perhaps  it  is  better  stated  that 
the  only  kind  of  fertility  that  the  farmer  cares  for  is  that 
which  is  available,  and  he  has  little  concern  for  any  fer- 
tility that  is  supposed  to  rest  within  the  soil  unless  he 
possesses  the  secret  of  making  it  useful  in  increasing  his 
crop  yield.  So  it  is  that  in  speaking  of  fertility  we  wish 
to  be  understood  as  referring  to  available  fertility, 

A    CONDITION    OF    THE    SOIL. 

Soil  fertility  is  not  something  that  is  a  part  of  the  soil- 
A  very  good  soil  may  have  little  or  no  fertility  available. 
It  is  a  thing  apart  from  the  soil,  to  be  placed  there  or  to 
be  developed  there,  through  a  condition  of  the  soil  due 
to  a  combination  of  causes.  And  it  is  just  to  bring  about 
this  condition  that  the  farmer  tills  his  land.  The  pur- 
pose we  have  in  scientific  soil  culture  is  to  develop  fertility 
by  and  through  creating  within  the  soil  a  condition  favor- 
able to  this  development.  The  reader  will  find  in  this 
Manual  a  great  deal  about  the  treatment  of  the  soil  to 
conserve  the  moisture  and  to  give  it  the  proper  amount 
of  air,  and  to  guard  against  drouth,  and  to  keep  the  soil's 
physical  condition  right — all  looking  to  development  of 
soil  fertility. 

That  soil  fertility  depends  a  great  deal  more  upon  the 
condition  of  the  soil  than  has  been  commonly  believed 
is  now  coming  to  be  accepted  by  many  of  those  whose 
positions  entitle  them  to  consideration.  Prof.  L.  H« 
Bailey,  of  the  Cornell  University  experiment  station,  a 
man  always  fair  and  always  in  the  front  rank,  has  de- 
clared that  "the  texture  or  physical  condition  of  the  soil 
is  nearly  always  more  important  than  its  mere  richness  in 
plant  food.77  In  explaining  why  a  finely  divided,  mellow; 


CAMPBELL'S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL  10l 

friable  soil  is  more  productive  than  a  hard  and  lumpy 
one  of  the  same  chemical  composition,  he  says  that  "it 
holds  and  retains  more  moisture;  holds  more  air;  presents 
greater  surface  to  the  roots;  promotes  nitrifiication ;  has^ 
tens  the  decomposition  of  the  mineral  elements;  has  less 
variable  extremes  of  temperature;  allows  a  better  root- 
hold  to  the  plant." 

And  as  if  to  clinch  the  matter  Prof.  Bailey  in  briefly 
referring  to  fertilizers,  declares  that  "it  is  useless  to  apply 
commercial  fertilizers  to  lands  which  are  not  in  proper 
physical  condition  for  the  very  best  growth  of  crops." 

SAVING    OUR    SOILS. 

In  a  circular  issued  by  the  University  of  Illinois  relating 
to  soil  investigation,  Prof.  Cyril  G.  Hopkins  asks  these 
pertinent  questions: 

"Does  not  the  ultimate  position  or  final  destiny  of 
America  rest  upon  the  question  whether  the  crop  produ- 
cing power  of  our  soils  shall  continue  gradually  to  be  reduced 
or  whether  it  shall  be  increased  or  at  least  maintained?  We 
need  not  ask  whether  the  fertility  of  the  soil  can  be  abso- 
lutely and  completely  exhausted.  The  fundamental  ques- 
tion is,  will  the  system  of  farming  which  we  practice  or 
advise  ultimately  reduce  the  productive  capacity  of  the 
soil." 

And  in  prefacing  a  somewhat  breezy  and  certainly 
very  instructive  lecture  upon  the  subject  Prof.  Hopkins 
says: 

"Surely  there  is  no  subject  pertaining  to  agricultural 
science  and  practice  regarding  which  there  is  such  a  diver- 
sity of  opinion  as  the  subject  of  soil  improvement  for 
increased  crop  production.  Both  practical  farmers  and 
even  eminent  scientific  authorities  disagree  almost  abso- 
lutely on  some  fundamental  principles.  Indeed  these 


102  CAMl'HKLL's    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL 

differences  of  opinion  are  so  marked  and  frequent  that  I 
feel  compelled  to  ask,  in  language  which  has  recently  been 
declared  grammatical,  'Where  are  we  at?'  ' 

Prof.  Hopkins  evidently  sees  what  is  ahead,  for  he 
declares  that  "the  agricultural  experimental  stations  are 
becoming  more  and  more  responsible  for  the  methods  of 
soil  management  which  are  being  practiced  in  this  coun- 
try," and  he  suggests  that  if  leguminous  crops,  for  instance, 
do  not  obtain  sufficient  atmospheric  nitrogen,  "is  it  not 
our  business  to  discover  why  they  do  not,  and  then  ad- 
vocate a  system  of  soil  treatment  or  soil  management 
which  shall  enable  legumes  to  obtain  from  the  free  and 
absolutely  inexhaustible  supply  of  the  atmosphere  all 
of  the  nitrogen  which  they  need  for  maximum  yields?" 

We  make  these  quotations  here,  in,  connection  with 
this  subject,  largely  to  make  it  clear  to  the  average  farmer 
that  he  need  not  feel  at  all  discouraged  if  he  realizes  how 
little  he  knows  about  the  mystery  of  the  soil  in  its  rela- 
tion to  plant  growth.  There  are  others  in  the  haze. 

CHANGING    THEIR    VIEWS. 

Turning  to  Farmer's  Bulletin  257,  by  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  containing  an  address  on  "Soil  Fer- 
tility," by  Prof.  Milton  Whitney,  the  eminent  chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Soils  for  the  Department,  we  find  him  declar- 
ing that  "fertility  and  crop  production  are  different  terms," 
and  that  "fertility  is  a  property  inherent  in  the  soil;  it 
is  what  the  soil  is  capable  of  doing  if  it  is  under  the  best 
possible  conditions."  Of  course  Prof.  Whitney  presented 
the  matter  from  a  purely  scientific  standpoint,  and  his 
discussion  of  the  soil  and  its  purposes  and  of  the  feeding 
1*  pfants  by  the  soil  was  backed  by  years  of  investigation; 
yet  we  find  him  confessing  with  a  frankness  that  is  decid- 
edly encouraging.  He  says: 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  103 

"I  believe  that  through  the  results  of  our  investiga- 
tions during  the  last  twelve  years  we  are  beginning  to 
understand  clearly  the  chemistry  of  the  soil.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly interesting,  but  it  is  entirely  different  from  our 
former  conceptions  of  it.  We  are  changing  our  ideas 
about  the  chemistry  of  the  soil  as  we  are  changing  our 
ideas  about  the  nature  of  diseases  and  about  physical 
forces  and  physical  laws  which  we  thought  were  perfectly 
understood." 

It  need  not  be  regarded  as  at  all  surprising  therefore, 
that  practical  farmers  and  experimenters  should  be  chang- 
ing their  views  as  to  the  chemistry  and  the  physics  of  the 
soil,  and  in  regard  to  soil  management,  since  those  who 
have  had  such  opportunities  for  knowing  the  truth  admit 
now  that  their  views  are  changing  because  of  modern 
investigations. 

And  this  is  true  that  investigation  is  giving  us  new 
light  on  the  soil  and  on  the  nature  of  soil  fertility,  and 
we  are  finding  out  a  great  many  new  things  about  the 
relationship  which  a  certain  physical  condition  of  the  soi 
through  cultivation  bears  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and 
to  plant  growth. 

The  soil  is  not  alone  the  home  of  the  plant  and  a  place 
for  its  roots  to  take  hold  and  keep  the  plant  erect;  the  soil 
is  the  source  of  food  supply  for  the  plant,  and  the  supply 
is  there  in  proportion  to  the  intelligence  of  the  tiller  of 
the  soil  in  his  preparation  for  it. 

Instinctively,  almost,  the  possessor  of  land  that  is 
poor  in  crop  producing  qualities  turns  to  fertilizers  as  his 
hope.  But  he  often  discovers  that  he^  has  not  been  able 
to  secure  soil  fertility  by  the  application  of  fertilizers. 
He  is  puzzled,  but  he  does  not  find  any  solution  to  the 
puzzle.  The  Department  of  Agriculture  reports  experi- 


104  CAM  SPELL'S  son,  QULTUBE  M  \\ir.vL 

ments  on  a  tract  of  land  in  Iowa  "which  with  stable  manure 
every  time  produces  a  smaller  crop  than  without."  No 
explanation. 

WHAT    THE    SOIL   IS. 

Now  the  soil  is,  in  fact,  a  part  of  the  volcanic  matter 
which  composes  most  of  the  earth.  It  is  broken  into 
minute  fragments.  These  fragments  are  perfect  speci- 
mens of  rocks  and  stones  or  pulverized  minerals.  But 
they  are  so  fine  that  the  different  minerals  readily  combine 
by  chemical  action.  The  plant  food  is  organic  in  nature. 
It  is  composed  of  different  mineral  substances  united  by 
chemical  action  or  otherwise.  We  do  not  know  and  we 
never  can  know  just  how  and  why  these  combinations 
are  effected. 

We  do  know  that  nitrogen  plays  a  large  part  in  form- 
ing these  organic  substances  which  are  the  food  of  the 
plants.  We  know  that  nitrogen  abounds  in  the  air  and 
that  it  may  easily  be  separated  from  the  other  component 
parts  of  the  air.  We  know  that  this  chemical  'action  is 
possible  only  where  there  is  water,  and  we  know  that  it  is 
promoted  by  the  rays  of  light  from  the  sun.  We  feel  sure 
also,  that  in  some  way  the  electricity  ever  present  in  the 
earth  and  in  the  air  plays  a  part  in  this  laboratory  in 
developing  growth. 

What  we  can  do  by  cultivation  of  the  soil  is  to  bring 
about  the  conditions  best  suited  to  whatever  action  is 
necessary  to  develop  plant  food  in  the  soil.  The  ideal  soil 
condition  is  one  where  there  is  just  the  right  amount  of 
water  and  air  and  other  elements.  We  can  do  a  great 
deal  in  assisting  nature,  or  at  least  in  not  obstructing 
nature,  in  this  laboratory  work.  And  this  is  scientific 
soil  culture. 

The  scientific  investigator  does  not  go  far  in  making 


CAMPBELL'S  son,  rin/rnKK   MAN'UAL  105 

explanation  of  the  way  soils  gain  fertility  until  he  uses  the 
term  "bacteria."  It  is  a  useful  term,  and  has  a  meaning 
fairly  well  understood,  but  the  term  is  made  to  cover  a 
good  deal  that  is  simply  so  mysterious  that  no  explanation 
is  offered.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  the  development 
of  bacteria  in  the  soil  bears  close  relation  to  its  fertility, 
and  that  these  bacteria,  whatever  they  may  be  in  fact, 
play  a  very  important  part  in  making  the  soil  what  it 
ought  to  be  for  the  greatest  amount  of  plant  food. 

ELEMENTS    OF    FERTILITY. 

There  are  several  things  in  this  connection  that  may 
be  regarded  as  well  settled. 

1 .  Soil    fertility   is    due    to    the  •  proper    combination 
of  elements  in  the  soil. 

2.  Soil  fertility  is  developed  in  the  soil  by  the  proper 
tilling  of  the  soil,  so  as  to  have  available  the  right  propor- 
tions of  air,  water,  and  other  elements. 

3.  Soil  fertility  is  possible  to  a  high  degree  in  almost 
every  soil,  and  the  addition  of  fertilizers  is  only  one  way 
of  gaining  this  condition. 

Again  we  repeat  that  all  the  processes  of  agriculture 
look  to  development  and  maintenance  in  the  soil,  of  this 
available  fertility  which  is  so  essential  to  plant  growth. 
The  farmer  must  bear  this  ever  in  mind.  He  turns  over 
the  sod  or  the  stubble,  not  merely  to  pulverize  the  surface 
for  a  seed  bed,  or  to  kill  the  weeds,  but  he  does  it  with 
a  view  to  creating  a  physical  condition  of  the  soil  suitable 
for  development  of  fertility.  He  may  never  know  why  the 
mineral  elements  combine  just  as  they  do  to  make  plant 
food,  but  it  is  enough  for  him  to  know  they  do  it,  then  to 
do  his  part  in  preparing  the  way. 

Good  crop  results  from  our  fields  is  our  great  desire, 


106  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

and  to  this  end  we  have  spent  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
in  soil  culture  experiments,  study  and  general  observ- 
ation. 

In  1891  we  became  positive  of  our  ability  by  observing 
certain  physical  conditions  of  the  soil  to  secure  good  crops 
during  drouthy  condition,  while  others  failed;  a  little 
later  we  were  convinced  by  repeated  results  that  the  aver- 
age yield  of  the  great  semi-arid  section  even  in  good  sea- 
sons could  easily  be  doubled,  and  now  it  is  evident  there 
can  be  even  a  greater  increase  in  the  yields  and  to  the  devel- 
opment of  increased  available  fertility  by  utilizing  more 
of  nature's  abundant  resources,  such  as  heat,  air,  water 
and  light  through  chemical  action  which  we  have  found 
is  great  or  small,  just  in  proportion  to  the  ability  of  the 
soil  to  combine  these  elements  in  proper  quantities  under 
such  ideal  conditions  as  shall  cause  the  most  complete 
chemical  action  for  the  production  or  development  of  the 
necessary  amount  of  fertility,  and  that  this  all  important 
ideal  condition  of  the  soil  can  be  established  by  scientific 
soil  culture. 


107 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


WATER  HOLDING  CAPACITY  OF  THE  SOIL. 

Among  the  more  important  questions  involved  in  Sci- 
entific Soil  Culture,  is  that  of  so  handling  and  preparing 
the  soil  that  it  may  carry  the  largest  possible  amount  of 
of  capillary  water,  and  at  the  same  time  let  surrounding 
conditions  be  such  that  all  free  or  surplus  water  may  read- 
ily percolate  down  and  away. 

It  must  be  understood  that  a  soil  saturated  or  full 
of  water  is  as  bad  as  no  water  at  all,  so  far  as  plant  growth 
and  the  development  of  plant  elements  or  fertility  may 
be  concerned. 

It  is  now  quite  apparent  that  plants  really  do  not 
utilize  or  consume  the  amount  of  water  once  thought 
necessary;  in  fact,  some  irrigation  experiments  have  shown 
that  beyond  a  certain  nominal  quantity  of  water,  more 
water  does  not  mean  more  or  better  crops.  In  these  ex- 
periments and  all  others  every  result  apparently  points 
to  the  fact  that  there  must  be  a  certain  quantity  of  water 
in  the  soil  together  with  its  requisite  amount  of  air  properly 
distributed  and  mingled,  and  when  this  very  ideal  condi- 
tion is  attained  the  only  needful  is  Old  Sol's  persuasive 
influence,  when  the  development  of  plants  and  fruits  will 
be  marvelously  pleasing. 

It  takes  no  argument  to  convince  the  average  man 
that  there  are  many  times  when,  if  the  soil  could  have  had 
just  a  little  more  available  moisture,  there  would  have 
been  one,  two  or  three  times  as  great  a  yield.  To  more 


108  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

clearly  show  the  vital  importance,  in  this  great  semi-arid 
belt,  of  thoroughly  fining  and  firming  that  portion  of  the 
soil  in  which  the  roots  of  the  plants  should  grow  and  feed, 
we  have  prepared  the  accompanying  illustration. 


( 'it!  No.  10.     Water-holding  Capacity  of  Soils. 

In  the  glass  on  the  right  is  one  pound  of  the  largest 
buckshot  we  could  find;  in  the  glass  on  the  left  is  one 
pound  of  the  very  smallest  bird  shot  we  could  obtain;  in 
the  center  is  an  one-ounce  druggist's  graduate.  With 
this  graduate  we  measured  precisely  one  ounce  of  water 
and  turned  into  each  glass.  We  then  shook  each  glass 
to  be  sure  that  every  shot  was  moistened  all  over.  This 
covered  each  one  with  a  thin  film  of  water  exactly  as  the 
moisture  is  retained  around  each  little  particle  of  soil.  It 
is  not  possible  in  our  illustration  to  get  rid  of  the  free  water, 
or  that  portion  between  the  shot,  except  by  tipping  the 
glass  over  and  holding  the  shot  back  to  allow  all  the  water, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  109 

which  is  not  held  in  film  form,  to  drain  out  into  the  grad- 
uate. Measuring  carefully  the  amount  from  each  glass, 
we  find  to  our  surprise  that  the  fine  shot  retains  nearly 
thirteen  times  as  much  water  as  the  coarse  shot.  Here 
we  have  a  practical  demonstration  of  how  the  water- 
holding  capacity  of  the  soil  is  increased  by  finely  pulver- 
izing and  making  it  firm,  a  condition  most  favorable  for 
the  movement  of  moisture  by  capillary  attraction  and  the 
most  perfect  development  of  roots,  both  of  which  sub- 
jects have  been  taken  up  in  detail  in  other  chapters. 

The  shot,  before  it  was  put  into  the  glasses,  was  care- 
fully weighed  on  fine  druggists'  scales  to  be  sure  that  we 
had  the  same  quantity.  As  you  see,  both  glasses  are  filled 
to  the  same  height  with  the  coarse  and  fine  shot  and  both 
glasses  are  of  the  same  size. 

WATER    AND    SOIL    CONDITIONS. 

The  great  question  which  bears  so  largely  upon  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  all  crops  is  that  of  water  in  suffi- 
cient available  quantities  at  all  times.  Nothing  has  more 
to  do  with  this  than  the  mechanical  or  physical  condi- 
tion of  the  soil.  The  deeper  the  soil  is  stirred  and  yet 
made  fine  and  firm,  the  greater  is  our  ability  to  guard 
against  the  shortage  of  water  at  some  critical  time.  To 
plow  deeply  and  leave  the  under  portion  lumpy  and  loose 
is  a  very  objectionable  condition  with  which  to  approach 
a  dry  period,  and  as  experience  has  shown,  no  one  knows 
when  such  a  time  may  occur.  Therefore,  for  safety,  the 
lower  portion  of  the  furrow  must  be  made  fine  and  com- 
pect,  as  deep  as  plowed. 

Many  thinking  men,  from  a  theoretical  standpoint, 
insist  that  the  soil  of  the  prairies  must  be  loosened  up 
deeply  to  let  the  water  down.  This  is  not  essential  in 
the  least,  providing  the  soil  is  moist  a  foot  or  so  below  the 


110  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

surface  and  the  surface  is  kept  loose.  As  soon  as  the  rain 
comes  in  contact  with  the  moist  earth  below  it  readily 
percolates  down  through  the  fine  soil.  In  fact  the  soil 
that  is  moist  for  three  or  four  feet  down  will  dry  off  on  the 
surface  much  quicker  than  soil  that  is  dry  underneath 
because  of  more  rapid  percolation.  The  slowest  soil  to 
take  the  rain  waters  is  the  dry  soil  with  a  firm  surface. 

Again  considering  the  water-holding  capacity  of  the 
soil,  and  recognizing  a  marked  difference  in  the  amount 
of  the  water  held  by  the  fine  shot  shown  in  our  illustration, 
we  more  clearly  grasp  the  value  of  adding  well  rotted 
manures  to  the  soil  of  the  western  prairies  and  the  fur- 
ther importance  of  having  it  thoroughly  mixed  into  the 
soil.  The  manure  when  decomposed  very  materially  adds 
to  the  number  of  minute  particles  and  further  increases 
the  water-holding  capacity.  The  manure  question  is  fully 
considered  in  a  chapter  by  itself,  and  should  be  very  care- 
fully studied  for  its  relation  to  the  moisture  question  is 
broad;  therefore,  it  is  one  that  means  much  to  the  semi- 
arid  country. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  111 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  AIR  IN  THE  SOIL. 

Not  as  much  importance  has  been  given  to  a  study  of 
the  part  played  by  air  in  the  soil  as  the  subject  warrants. 
Neither  is  it  very  well  understood  that  its  availability  in 
the  soil  is  largely  regulated  by  the  mechanical  arrange- 
ment of  the  particles  in  the  upper  six  or  eight  inches  top 
layer  of  the  soil. 

Because  we  have  seen  it  constantly  demonstrated  we 
know  the  necessity  of  water  in  the  soil  for  plant  growth, 
but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  comprehend  the  material  value  to 
the  plant  of  air  in  the  soil.  We  cannot  see  its  effect  in 
anything  like  as  broad  a  sense  as  we  do  the  water,  yet  its 
presence  in  proper  quantities  in  the  soil  and  about  the  roots 
of  the  plants  is  just  as  vital  to  its  life,  health  and  growth 
as  water. 

Water  without  air  and  its  component  parts  is  worthless; 
air  without  water  and  its  component  parts  is  equally 
valueless  to  the  growth  and  development  of  all  farm 
crops. 

Consider  the  subject  carefully.  How  many  times  have 
we  seen  a  field  of  wheat,  corn  or  oats,  possibly  half-grown, 
and  noted  that  in  some  depression  the  crop  was  ranker  in 
growth  and  also  a  darker  green.  If  a  rain  of  considerable 
magnitude  comes,  and  the  depression  fills  with  water 
and  remains  there  for  several  days,  the  plants  that  seemed 
to  have  the  advantage  before  the  rain  now  begin  to  lose 
their  dark,  healthy  green  color;  if  the  water  remains  long 


112 


enough  over  the  surface  a  yellow  cast  becomes  apparent, 
then  a  brown,  and  finally  it  dies.  This  is  because  of  a 
lack  of  air  at  the  roots. 

The  great  store  house  of  nitrogen  is  the  atmosphere.  It 
is  the  place  where  all  is  kept  that  is  not  in  use  otherwise.  And 
nitrogen  is  one  of  the  essentials  of  plant  life.  The  plants 
do  not  take  their  nitrogen  directly  from  the  air;  but  it 
comes  to  the  plant  in  an  indirect  manner  through  organic 
substances  in  the  soil.  The  nitrogen  of  the  air  combines 
with  mineral  substances  in  the  soil,  and  then  by  reason  of 
the  action  of  bacteria  certain  compounds  are  formed 
which  contain  nitrogen  in  a  soluble  form.  Then  it  be- 
comes plant  food. 

NITROGEN    AS    PLANT    FOOD. 

But  you  cannot  have  these  compounds  containing 
nitrogen  if  the  other  elements  are  shut  off  from  contact 
with  nature's  great  storehouse  of  nitrogen.  Hence  the 
circulation  of  air  in  the  soil  is  an  absolute  necessity.  Soil 
in  a  perfect  vacuum  is  dead  soil,  and  can  no  more  become 
or  develop  plant  food  than  soil  submerged  in  water  or  soil 
baked  to  absolute  dry  ness. 

The  great  danger  in  handling  soil  in  relation  to  the  aii 
in  the  same  lies  in  the  possibility  of  having  a  condition 
that  will  shut  out  the  air  without  the  farmer  knowing  it. 
A  heavy  rain  may  produce  this  undesirable  condition. 
In  cut  No.  11  is  shown  what  frequently  happens  and  how 
it  may  be  overcome.  It  shows  soil  where  there  has  been 
a  heavy  rainfall,  beating  down  the  surface  which  has  been 
softened  by  the  raindrops,  and  with  the  result  that  the 
upper  surface  is  compacted  perfectly.  As  soon  as  tho 
small  amount  of  water  near  the  surface  has  disappeared 
by  evaporation  the  upper  crust  is  hard.  It  is  iiripenetra,- 


CAMBPELL'S  SOIL  CULTUE  MANUAL 


113 


ble  by  air.  It  may  as  effectually  seal  the  subsoil  from 
the  air  as  does  the  coat  of  paraffine  over  the  jar  of  jelly  in 
the  pantry. 


A  B 

Cut  No.  11.     Showing  Heavy  Rain  Crust  and  how  it  is  Broken  up 

(a)    Soil   Mulch  Restored  by  Cultivation,     (b)    Soil  Mulch 

after  Heavy  Rain,  Dissolved  and  settled  down. 

When  such  conditions  are  found  they  must  be  destroyed. 
The  only  thing  is  to  promptly  break  up  this  crust  and 
put  the  soil  into  condition  so  there  will  again  be  a  natural 
mingling  of  the  air  and  water  with  the  particles  of  the  soil. 
This  mingling  must  be  in  proper  quantities  of  each — that 
is  the  soil  must  be  of  sufficient  fineness  and  firmness  below 
the  surface,  or  that  portion  properly  termed  the  root  bed, 
so  there  may  not  be  too  much  air,  for  while  air  is  most 
valuable  in  the  soil  in  just  the  proper  quantities,  it  is  se- 
riously detrimental  in  too  large  quantities. 

SHUTTING    OUT    THE    AIR. 

In  the  experiment  work  we  have  conducted  we  have 
noted  some  remarkable  conditions  and  results.  We  have 
found,  for  instance,  that  the  air  may  be  shut  out  by  the 


114  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

forming  of  an  almost  impervious  crust,  either  on  the  sur- 
face or  beneath  a  soil  mulch.  The  most  marked  effect 
of  this  crust  was  brought  out  at  the  Pomeroy  model  farm, 
Hill  City,  Kansas,  in  1901,  during  an  extremely  long  dry 
period  in  mid-summer  when  for  nearly  three  months  al- 
most the  entire  country  experienced  one  hundred  degrees 
of  heat,  at  times  the  thermometer  running  even  higher, 
without  any  rain.  Because  of  wheat  harvesting  and  other 
pressing  work  the  orchard  was  left  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
days  without  cultivation.  During  this  time  a  crust  had 
formed  under  the  mulch  which  we  had  kept  fully  two 
and  a-half  inches  in  depth.  The  crust  was  nearly  one  inch 
thick  and  was  so  dense  that  the  air  was  almost  completely 
shut  out.  This  crust  was  caused  by  the  mulch  becoming  so 
heated  through  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  that  the  moisture 
in  the  firm  soil  just  beneath  formed  a  vapor  and  passed 
off  through  the  pores  of  the  mulch,  to  a  degree  moistening 
the  mulch,  and  allowing  enough  capillary  attraction, 
which  together  with  the  heat,  permitted  much  of  the 
moisture  to  be  lost  by  evaporation.  This  resulted  in 
bringing  up  much  magnesia,  alkali  salts,  etc.,  in  a  soluble  or 
dissolved  condition.  When  this  soluble  matter  reached 
the  point  in  the  firm  soil  near  the  surface,  where  the  moist- 
ure was  transformed  into  vapor  by  the  intense  heat,  it 
became  a  solid,  and  these  minute  particles  gradually  filled 
up  the  pores  in  the  top  of  the  firm  soil. 

Our  attention  was  first  called  to  this  on  returning 
after  an  absence  of  four  days  from  the  farm,  by  noting  the 
fact  that  the  foliage  of  the  tree  was  losing  its  dark  green 
color.  To  ascertain  the  reason  for  this,  after  finding  that 
there  was  ample  moisture  beneath  the  crust,  the  exper- 
iment of  double  disking  one-half  of  the  orchard  was  tried. 
The  disk  was  set  to  cut  as  deeply  as  possible,  thus  com- 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


115 


pletely  destroying  the  crust.  On  the  morning  of  the  fourth 
day  there  was  a  perceptible  difference  in  the  color  of  the 
leaves  in  this  half  of  the  orchard.  In  seven  days  the 
trees  in  the  disked  portion  had  resumed  their  healthy 
dark  green  color,  while  the  undisked  portion  had  become 
still  lighter  in  color.  The  balance  of  the  orchard  was 
then  disked.  Although  the  extreme  weather  continued 


Cut  No.  12.     Showing  Effect  of  Shutting  Air  from  Roots 

four  weeks  longer,  the  leaves  of  the  whole  orchard  resumed 
their  fine,  deep  green,  and  new  growth  was  apparently 
rapid. 

Similar   conditions   have   since   been   noted   in  wheat. 


116  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

oats  and  corn,  with  same  results  from  similar  treatment, 
all  pointing  to  the  fact  that  both  the  growth  and  yield 
of  crops  may  be  very  materially  diminished  by  shutting 
the  air  from  the  roots  of  the  plants. 

To  illustrate  more  fully  the  effect  of  shutting  the  air 
from  the  roots  we  take  the  accompanying  cut  No.  12  from 
Goff's  book,  "Principles  of  Plant  Culture." 

To  make  this  test  practical,  two  glasses  were  filled 
about  half  full  of  soft  water,  then  two  slips  of  the  same 
kind  of  a  plant  as  near  alike  as  could  be  selected  were  placed 
in  the  two  glasses  and  then  a  thin  layer  of  olive  oil  was  put 
upon  the  water  in  one  glass  to  prevent  the  air  reaching 
the  water,  the  glasses  placed  in  a  warm  light  place;  in  a 
very  few  days  live  healthy  roots  are  seen  developing  from 
the  slip  in  the  glass  without  the  oil,  while  the  oil  covered 
glass  not  only  shows  no  roots  but  the  leaves  soon  begin  to 
wither.  While  it  must  be  remembered  that  slips  from 
any  and  all  trees  or  shrubs  will  not  do  this,  only  such  as 
willow,  nasturtion,  or  wandering  jew,  etc.  Yet  it  demon- 
strates clearly  and  beyond  a  shade  of  doubt  that  the  air 
plays  a  very  important  part  in  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  roots  and  plants. 

One  more  thought  before  closing  this  very  important 
topic.  The  full  and  complete  knowledge  of  the  relation 
of  air  and  its  utility  in  the  production  of  all  farm  crops 
means  the  absolute  certainty  of  the  greatly  increased 
yields  of  your  fields  without  any  material  increase  in  the 
cost  of  production,  because  it  is  found  in  utilizing  what 
is  actually  going  to  waste,  not  by  a  specially  increased 
amount  of  labor,  but  through  doing  the  work  commonly 
done  with  an  eye  to  bringing  about  that  certain  necessary 
physical  condition  more  through  a  little  different  manner 
of  tilling  the  soil  when  it  is  in  proper  condition  to  work. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  117 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PERCOLATION;  OR   GETTING  WATER   DOWN 
INTO   THE   SUB-SOIL. 

During  the  past  three  years  the  question  of  getting 
the  water  down  into  the  subsoil  has  commanded  much 
attention  and  discussion. 

In  the  more  arid  sections  there  seems  to  be  a  prevail- 
ing idea  that  the  soil  must  be  broken  up  or  loosened  deeply 
by  subsoiling  or  otherwise,  or  the  rain  waters  will  not 
permeate  the  subsoils  of  our  great  prairies  to  any  material 
depth.  Theoretically,  this  is  true,  and  all  general  observ- 
ations so  far  as  the  prairies  in  their  natural  state  is  con- 
cerned, have  backed  up  the  theory  as  a  fact  or  truth. 

A  little  broader  and  more  careful  observation  shows 
the  theory  to  be  a  theory  only. 

What  we  have  found  to  be  true  in  cultivated  soils  is 
also  largely  true  of  the  prairies.  Several  trips  over  por- 
tions of  Eastern  Colorado  in  the  autumn  of  1906  gave 
strong  proof  that,  when  the  soil  is  moistened  to  a  depth 
of  one  foot  or  more,  that  a  subsequent  rain  of  any  mag- 
nitude soon  disappears  by  percolation.  This  was  proven 
in  one  instance  in  November;  a  quite  heavy  rain  disappeared 
from  the  level  prairies  very  quickly,  although  it  remained 
cool  and  cloudy,  so  that  little  was  lost  by  evaporation. 
Four  days  later  showed  the  prairie  soil  to  be  moist  nine 
inches  deeper  than  before  the  rain;  proving  the  readiness 
of  moist  soil  to  take  in  more  water. 

There  is  no  subject  that  is  more  vital  to  the  scientific 


118 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


farmers  in  all  our  arid  countries.  To  grow  good  crops 
successfully  in  any  and  all  seasons,  the  moisture  must 
be  stored  in  the  soils  and  subsoils  below.  If  it  is  only  a 
question  of  getting  a  living  out  of  the  soil,  that  is  one 
thing,  but  if  it  is  a  questron  of  living  well  in  good 
homes  and  educating  a  family  of  children,  then  let  us 


Cut  No.  13.     Capillary  Attraction  Illustrated. 

get  out  of  the  soil  all  we  can.  If  we  have  a  legal  right 
to  the  crop  that  grows  on  the  land  we  till  then  why  not 
raise  a  big  crop  instead  of  a  small  one? 

In  cut  No.  14  we  have  attempted  to  illustrate  the 
percolation  of  water,  or  the  getting  of  water  down  into 
the  soil.  We  have  divided  this  cut  into  three  sections, 
numbering  them  1,  2  and  3,  from  left  to  right,  then  divided 
these  sections  into  lateral  strata  A,  B,  C,  and  D. 

In  section  No.  1,  A  represents  the  soil  mulch,  a  stratum 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


119 


of  light,  loose,  and  dry  soil;  B  represents  a  stratum  of 
thoroughly  pulverized  and  firm  soil,  meaning  the  portion 
that  is  cut  by  the  plow  and  then  sub-packed;  C  repre- 
sents about  eight  inches  of  the  subsoil  into  which  water  has 
percolated,  and  D  represents  the  portion  of  subsoil  still 
below  that  is  yet  dry. 

In  section  2,  we  find  the  mulch  has  been  compacted  by 
a  heavy  fall  of  rain.  This  mulch  in  its  loose  condition 
readily  takes  in  the  water,  and  as  soon  as  the  water  reaches 
the  moist  soil  found  in  strata  B  and  0,  it  immediately 


1  2  3 

Cut  No.  14.     Showing  How  Water  is  Stored  in  the  Soil. 

percolates  down  below,  and  is  shown  by  the  darker  portion 
of  soil  in  the  upper  part  of  stratum  D.  Here  the  water  ha* 
come  in  contact  with  dry  soil,  which  resists  percolation 
Slowly  and  steadily  by  gravity  the  water  finds  its  waj 


120 


down  the  columns  of  soil,  which  by  the  way,  throughout 
the  entire  semi-arid  belt  are  almost  invariably  found  in 
a  perpendicular  position. 

In  section  3,  we  have  again  reproduced  our  soil  mulch 
by  cultivation  to  stop  the  evaporation  or  loss  of  our  water 
from  the  surface,  and  we  find  the  moisture  below  has  per- 
colated on  down  until  the  water  is  all  distributed,  each 
little  particle  taking  on  its  film  of  water  to  a  given  thick- 
ness which  it  seems  to  steadily  hold  onto  while  the  bal- 
ance of  the  free  water  finds  its  way  on  down  until  it  is  all 
distributed  in  like  manner. 

The  next  rain  will  result  the  same  as  is  shown  in  section 
2,  only  we  have  six,  eight  or  twelve  inches  more  moist 
soil  for  it  to  pass  through  before  reaching  the  dry  soil. 

An  illustration  will  make  this  more  clear.  In  setting 
out  our  cabbage  or  tomato  plants  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  when  the  surface  is  dry  and  fine  we  usually  water 
them.  In  our  first  application  of  water  to  this  dry  surface 
we  notice  the  water  does  not  seem  to  percolate,  but  for  a 
little  time  remains  dormant  on  the  surface.  After  a  little 
it  finds  its  way  down  through  the  dry  particles  by  force 
of  gravity,  leaving  each  particle  it  passes  covered  with  a 
thin  film  of  water.  Then  we  apply  a  second  application 
of  water  while  the  surface  is  still  moist  and  we  notice  the 
water  immediately  disappears.  The  reason  of  non-perco- 
lation of  the  first  application  is  because  of  the  resistance 
of  the  dry  particles  to  moisture,  or  repulsion  for  water. 
The  quick  movement  of  the  second  application  of  water 
into  the  ground  is  the  result  of  the  attraction  of  water  for 
water,  together  with  gravit^ 

The  following  will  illustrate  this  natural  law:  take  a 
piece  of  glass,  or  a  smooth  earthen  plate  and  oil  it  slightly, 
then  put  drops  of  water,  a  half  dozen  or  more,  on  the  gla?> 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  121 

take  a  narrow  piece  of  ordinary  newspaper,  about  one- 
half  inch  wide,  let  it  extend  from  the  thumb  and  finger 
about  two  inches,  slowly  move  it  down  so  the  end  of 
the  paper  will  come  in  contact  with  a  single  drop  of  water. 
If  you  notice  closely  you  will  see  a  remarkable  resistance 
of  the  paper  against  the  water.  Very  soon  the  little  pores 
begin  to  absorb  the  water,  and  the  end  of  the  paper  be- 
comes moist.  Now  slowly  raise  the  paper  and  notice 
how  persistently  the  paper  hangs  to  the  water.  When 
it  lets  go  there  is  a  quick  upward  movement,  thus  show- 
ing the  power  of  attraction  of  water  for  water.  Now 
steadily  move  the  fingers  down  slowly,  watching  the  paper 
and  you  will  notice  when  it  gets  close  to  the  water  there 
is  a  sudden  movement  down,  even  while  there  is  a  little 
space  between  the  moisture  on  the  paper  and  the  water 
on  the  glass.  The  power  of  attraction  is  made  very  per- 
ceptible by  the  quick  connection  of  the  two  moist  parti- 
cles. Now  draw  the  paper  across  the  glass  from  one  drop 
to  the  other,  you  will  notice  the  water  all  hangs  together. 
You  will  have  a  string  or  train  of  water  two  or  three  inches 
long  trailing  on  behind  your  paper. 

This  illustrates  how  easy  it  is  to  get  moisture  into  the 
soil  by  keeping  the  surface  constantly  loose  and  open,  so 
that  as  the  rain  falls  it  soon  works  its  way  through  the 
larger  pores  until  it  reaches  the  moist  particles  in  the  firm 
soil,'  when  it  immediately  percolates  on  down  below.  Here 
again  nature  has  done*  a  great  deal  for  the  semi-arid  belt. 
The  peculiar  formation  and  size  of  the  usual  particle  of 
soil  is  very  favorable  for  percolation;  also  for  its  return 
upward  by  capillary  attraction  to  feed  the  plant  during 
our  long  dry  seasons. 

Here  again  we  must  reiterate.  When  a  heavy  rain 
comes,  the  effect  is  to  mom  or  less  dissolve  the  soil  mulch 


122  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

and  cause  it  to  settle  very  firm  as  shown  in  the  center 
column  of  our  illustration.  The  restoring  of  this  mulch 
is  of  vital  importance,  and  the  question  of  the  proper 
time  in  which  the  condition  of  the  surface  soil  regarding 
the  per  cent  of  moisture  it  still  has,  must  be  carefully 
considered,  that  cultivation  may  be  done  at  a  time  when 
the  greatest  good  may  come  from  it. 

When  we  realize  that  under  the  conditions  we  are  con- 
sidering, following  a  heavy  rain,  the  soil  will  lose  from 
its  surface  by  evaporation  under  normal  summer  climatic 
conditions  from  one  and  a-half  to  two  quarts  of  water  per 
square  foot  each  day. 

We  certainly  should  grasp  the  importance  of  quick 
action,  but  if  we  cultivate  too  quickly  we  may  puddle 
the  soil  and  leave  a  very  poor  mulch,  especially  if  the  soil 
be  close  and  heavy. 

Again  if  the  soil  be  slightly  or  quite  sandy  and  we 
delay  the  cultivation  too  long,  and  the  surface  soil  becomes 
quite  dry,  which  it  will  much  quicker  than  the  heavy  soil, 
then  we  may  have  our  soil  too  much  on  the  order  of  dust 
which  is  easily  disturbed  by  high  winds.  All  these  things 
must  be  watched  and  duly  considered. 

Just  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  dry  enough  so  it  will  not 
stick  to  the  harrow  or  cultivator,  it  should  be  quickly 
•gone  over, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  123 


.CHAPTER  XVI. 

EVAPORATION. 

In  connection  with  the  percolation  of  the  water  down 
through  the  soil  and  the  capillary  movement  of  the  water 
upwards,  there  is  the  all-important  topic  of  evaporation. 

It  is  highly  important  to  the  farmer  living  in  the  semi- 
arid  region  to  know  all  about  evaporation,  for  it  is  by 
evaporation  rather  than  by  under  drainage  that  the  larger 
part  of  his  water  leaves  him. 

When  one  understands  perfectly  the  effect  of  evap- 
oration and  how  it  operates  to  remove  water  from  the 
soil  he  is  in  a  position  to  better  understand  why  it  is  that 
there  can  be  so  much  conservation  of  the  moisture  in  the 
soil  that  the  land  of  the  semi-arid  belt  becomes  in  fact 
better  fitted  for  good  crops  than  the  land  of  the  more 
humid  sections.  It  is  a  common  remark  among  those 
who  but  little  understand  the  situation  that  if  there  was 
only  a  little  more  rainfall  in  the  semi-arid  region  it  would 
be  the  ideal  farming  country.  They  say  that  all  the  coun- 
try lacks  is  enough  rainfall  to  provide  all  the  water  neces- 
sary. This  is  a  superficial  view.  It  does  not  take  into 
account  the  main  elements. 

It  is  true  that  if  we  could  always  have  here  in  the  semi- 
arid  country  just  the  right  amount  of  rainfall,  and  have 
it  at  the  right  time,  we  would  have  no  trouble  in  raising 
good  crops.  It  would  be  very  nice  indeed  to  have  this 
condition.  We  would  have  the  tropics  beat  badly,  and 
our  people  would  have  time  for  bull  fights  and  things  like 
that  while  they  were  just  waiting  for  the  crops  to  mature- 


124  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

But  it  is  also  true,  and  this  needs  no  demonstration, 
that  even  in  the  humid  sections  of  the  country  they  suffer 
from  drouth.  Down  on  the  Atlantic  coast  there  are  many 
places  where  there  is  an  average  of  one  rainy  day  in  every 
three  during  the  growing  season — and  right  there  you  will 
find  the  old  settlers  telling  about  how  they  lost  a  crop  by 
drouth.  And  if  they  do  not  suffer  from  drouth  they  are 
likely  to  suffer  equally  as  much  by  having  rain  when 
they  do  not  want  it. 

RAPIDITY    OF    EVAPORATION. 

It  is  stated  that  the  best  estimate  based  on  experiments 
as  to  the  extent  of  evaporation  from  the  soil  in  the  humid 
regions  shows  that  fully  fifty  per  cent  of  the  rain  water 
which  falls  is  returned  to  the  air  directly  in  vapor.  But 
this  is  not  true  of  the  semi-arid  region,  where  a  much 
smaller  proportion  is  returned  to  the  air  in  that  way. 
And  where  there  is  cultivation  with  a  special  view  to  pre- 
venting this  evaporation  from  the  surface  the  evaporation 
is  still  less.  Prof.  Whitney  tells  of  an  experiment  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  to  test  the  rapidity  of  evapo- 
ration under  different  conditions.  Two  cylinders  six  feet 
long  were  filled  with  soil  and  placed  erect  in  water  so  that 
the  soil  was  kept  damp.  Then  over  the  exposed  end  of 
one  tube  a  draft  of  air  was  blown  to  hasten  evaporation, 
while  over  the  other  a  similar  blast  of  air  was  blown,  but 
in  this  case  the  air  was  heated.  It  was  evident  that  the 
heated  air  would  of  itself  take  up  the  water  faster  than  the 
cold  air.  For  a  time  the  evaporation  from  the  tube  where 
the  heated  air  was  operating  seemed  to  be  much  faster 
than  from  the  other.  But  the  surface  soil  was  soon  dried 
out  and  this  checked  evaporation.  During  the  time  the 
experiment  was  conducted  it  was  found  that  the  evapo- 
ration from  the  tube  with  heated  air  was  very  much  less 
than  from  the  tube  with  cold  air. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  125 

This  illustrates  exactly  what  is  done  on  the  soils  o. 
the  semi-arid  region  to  check  evaporation. 

NOT    LACK    OF    RAINFALL. 

The  real  difficulty  in  the  semi-arid  belt  is  not  a  lack 
of  rainfall,  but  the  loss  of  too  much  by  evaporation,  and 
this  can  be  largely  controlled  by  proper  cultivation,  at 
least  sufficiently  to  secure  a  good  growth  of  crops  every 
year.  It  has  been  demonstrated  by  careful  laboratory  )  / 
and  field  work  by  Professors  King,  Whitney,  Hilgard,  and  H 
others,  that  seven  inches  of  rainfall  is  ample  to  grow  a 
good  crop  of  any  kind,  providing  the  water  is  all  utilized. 
Measurements  and  records  by  the  government  weather 
bureau  have  shown  that  in  the  more  westerly  portions 
of  the  semi-arid  belt  the  average  rainfall  is  more  than 
twice  as  much  as  is  needed,  while  a  little  further  east  it 
is  three  and  four  times  the  necessary  amount. 

The  usual  difficulty,  if  such  we  may  call  it,  is  the  fact  that 
this  rain  does  not  always  come  just  at  the  time  the  plants 
most  need  it.  This  is  the  reason  crops  have  failed  and 
the  average  investigator  or  observer  of  the  existing  con- 
ditions in  this  great  belt  has  drawn  the  conclusion  that 
there  is  not  rain  enough.  We  have  lived  in  this  belt  of 
country  twenty-eight  years,  and  have  experienced  all  the 
pros  and  cons,  the  ups  and  downs  that  the  country  is  heir 
to.  Sixteen  years  of  this  time  has  been  spent  entirely 
in  the  study  of  the  soil,  the  movement  of  the  moisture  in 
the  soil,  and  that  all-important  question  of  storing  the 
rain  waters.  Our  experience  in  these  sixteen  years  has 
been  quite  varied,  but  each  and  every  year  some  new  and 
important  fact  has  been  brought  out,  all  leading  to  the  one 
conclusion,  that  the  rainfall  can  be  stored  in  the  ground, 


126  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

and  its  evaporation  prevented  by  a  proper  manipulation 
of  the  soil,  thus  enabling  us  to  secure,  not  only  fair,  but 
remarkably  good  crops  any  and  every  year. 

The  irrigator  must  consider  this  question  of  evapora- 
tion. As  a  matter  of  fact  he  has  discovered  that  his  great 
loss  of  water  is  from  evaporation  and  he  has  studied  to 
offset  this.  Placing  water  on  the  surface  of  the  ground 
simply  invites  loss  of  the  water  at  once.  What  must  be 
done  and  what  is  done  where  irrigation  is  well  understood 
is  to  place  the  water  deep  in  the  soil,  and  store  it  where 
it  can  be  made  use  of  at  the  right  time  and  in  the  right 
way. 

LOSS    AT    THE   SURFACE. 

The  wonderful  rapidity  with  which  moisture  rises  by 
capillary  attraction  to  the  surface  and  is  evaporated  is 
not  commonly  understood.  The  most  favorable  condition 
for  this  rapid,  upward  movement  of  moisture  is  the  natural 
condition  found  after  irrigation  or  heavy  rains,  when  the  sur- 
face soil  particles  are  dissolved  and  settled  very  closely  to- 
gether. Professor  King  has  conducted  some  very  extensive 
experiments  in  ascertaining  the  amount  of  moisture  that 
would  evaporate  from  a  square  foot  of  ground  in  twentv-four 
hours.  This  work  was  accomplished  by  placing  a  metallic 
tube  one  foot  square  in  a  tank  of  water  so  protected  that 
there  could  be  no  evaporation  or  loss  of  water,  except 
through  this  tube.  The  tube  was  five  feet  long,  filled 
with  soil  from  top  to  bottom,  and  submerged  into  the 
water  four  feet,  so  that  the  moisture  to  reach  the  surface 
to  evaporate  had  to  pass  up  one  foot  through  the  soil  by 
capillary  attraction.  The  rate  of  evaporation  for  ten  con- 
secutive days  was  a  quart  and  a-half  of  water  to  the  square 
foot.  The  tube  was  then  lifted  one  foot  higher,  making 
it  necessary  for  the  moisture  to  rise  two  feet  by  capillary 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  127 

attraction,  when  the  loss  was  a  little  over  one  quart.  It 
was  then  lifted  to  three  and  then  to  four  feet,  and  when 
rising  four  feet  by  capillary  attraction  the  loss  was  a  little 
over  a  pint  to  the  square  foot.  This  shows  clearly  why 
uur  crops  may  suffer  so  quickly  even  after  we  have  had 
considerable  rain. 

The  experience  of  the  writer  in  his  own  work  in  1894, 
demonstrated  clearly  these  two  facts:  First,  that  moist- 
ure will  evaporate  very  quickly  when  soil  is  left  in  its 
natural  condition;  second,  that  a  large  per  cent  of  moist- 
ure can  be  stored  in  the  ground.  In  that  year  there  was 
no  rainfall  after  early  May  or  during  the  month  of  June, 
and  the  average  field  was  practically  dry  when  the  first 
rain  came  on  July  7.  At  that  time  the  fields  were  flooded  by 
a  rain  of  four  and  a-half  inches  which  came  down  quickly. 
In  the  fields  where  we  were  conducting  experiments  we 
had  previous  to  this  time  got  the  moisture  down  nearly 
three  and  a-half  feet,  and  the  surface  was  in  the  best  of 
condition  to  absorb  the  fresh  rain.  In  eight  days  the 
ordinary  field  was  again  practically  dry.  In  such  fields, 
owing  to  the  great  resistance  of  the  dry  soil,  percolation 
was  very  slow,  and  the  extreme  heat  which  naturally  fol- 
lowed quickly  evaporated  all  the  water  which  had  fallen. 
But  the  field  we  had  been  carefully  cultivating  and  had 
prepared  for  just  such  an  emergency,  was  found  to  have 
a  moist  soil  over  two  and  a-half  feet  deeper  than  before, 
or  down  to  a  depth  of  six  feet. 

During  the  season  of  1901,  there  were  many  demon- 
strations of  the  remarkable  results  following  extra  work 
clone  just  at  the  proper  time.  A  farmer  near  Fairmont 
cultivated  once  more  after  a  heavy  rain  which  came  about 
the  middle  of  July,  after  the  farmers  in  that  locality  had 
"laid  their  corn  by."  This  extra  cultivation;  which  could 


128 


not  have  cost  over  thirty  cents  an  acre,  added  fifteen 
bushels  per  acre  to  his  yield  of  corn.  James  Armstrong, 
of  Phelps  county,  double-disked  his  ground  early  in  the 
spring,  then  cultivated  his  corn  once  more  than  his  neigh- 
bors, at  a  total  cost  not  exceeding  sixty  cents  an  acre, 
and  got  twenty  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  for  his  extra 
labor.  This  may  seem  like  an  exaggeration,  but  the  com- 
parison was  made  between  this  field  and  an  adjoining 
field  on  his  own  farm  not  thus  treated,  as  well  as  a  com- 
parison with  the  crops  of  his  neighbors.  Dozens  of  sim- 
ilar illustrations  could  be  given  of  the  immense  value  of 
this  principle;  If  the  work  is  done  at  the  right  time  re- 
sults are  great. 

GREATEST    ELEMENT    OF    WASTE. 

The  careful  tiller  of  the  soil  will,  then,  bear  in  mind  a* 
all  times  the  fact  that  evaporation  is  the  greatest  element 
in  the  waste  of  water,  that  evaporation  depends  upon  the 
condition  of  the  soil  surface  and  the  atmosphere,  that  it 
is  always  immediately  following  a  rain  or  an  irrigation 
when  the  surface  is  compact  and  moist  that  evaporation 
is  most  rapid,  that  evaporation  is  comparitively  slow 
from  a  broken  and  dry  surface,  and  that  by  checking  evap- 
oration the  farmer  literally  forces  the  water  down  into 
his  natural  store  house  or  reservoir  for  water  beneath 
the  surface. 

Cultivation  of  the  surface  of  the  soil  is  not  alone  to 
kill  weeds  or  loosen  the  soil  to  admit  the  air — but  it  is  for 
the  purpose  of  stopping  the  waste  of  water  through  evap- 
oration. 

Evidence  from  all  over  the  semi-arid  west  proves  con- 
clusively that  if  every  farmer  had  fully  understood  the 
theory  and  principles  of  conserving  the  soil  water  by  proper 
cultivation,  there  would  have  been  no  short  crop  of  corn 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  129 

in  1901  in  that  section  of  country.  The  excessive  evapo- 
ration of  the  rain  water  all  over  the  great  plains  country 
is  the  direct  and  sole  cause  of  a  greater  loss  to  the  farmers 
of  that  belt  than  any  other  one  thing.  Educate  the  farm- 
ers of  the  semi-arid  belt  to  store,  conserve  and  utilize  the 
the  rain  water  and  we  have  paved  the  way  for  thousands 
more  ideal  farm  homes  and  a  higher  state  of  prosperity 
than  this  belt  ever  experienced  or  the  people  anticipated. 
It  is  by  and  through  knowledge  of  certain  great  funda- 
mental principles  of  agriculture,  and  application  of  those 
principles  to  conditions  which  exist  in  this  semi-arid  sec- 
tion and  no  place  else  in  our  country,  that  this  region  is 
to  come  into  its  own,  and  be  made,  indeed,  a  veritable 
garden. 

Evaporation  of  the  rain  water  on  the  great  plains 
country  has  made  many  a  man  hopeless  and  homeless. 
Prevention  of  the  evaporation  of  the  soil  waters  by  proper 
cultivation  means  better  crops,  better  homes,  better 
people,  happier  children,  and  a  better  and  more  prosper- 
ous country. 


130  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTUKK  MANUAL 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


ADVANTAGES  OF  SEMI-ARID  REGION. 

Don't  apologize  for  being  a  farmer  of  the  semi-arid 
region.  It  is  not  advisable  to  be  boastful  beyond  that 
which  is  easily  demonstrated;  but  at  least  do  not  feel 
that  in  conducting  the  business  of  agriculture  in  a  region 
where  the  rainfall  is  small  you  are  defying  nature.  It  is 
true  that  you  may  be  defying  the  traditions  of  the  past 
and  doing  violence  to  the  old  accepted  theories  on  agri- 
culture, but  you  need  not  concern  yourself  about  these 
things. 

Don't  belittle  your  own  state  and  your  own  farm  by 
bewailing  the  fact  that  the  rain  does  not  fall  as  often 
there  as  it  did  on  the  farm  where  you  spent  your  boyhood 
days.  There  were  seemingly  some  advantages  in  having 
rainstorms  so  often  and  so  great  that  the  waste  of  great 
quantities  of  water  was  not  seriously  felt.  It  may  be  a 
nice  thing  to  have  more  water  than  you  know  what  to  do 
with.  But  even  this  has  its  drawbacks.  Perhaps  it  is 
better  on  the  whole  not  to  have  so  much  water.  Let  us 
see. 

The  soil  of  the  semi-arid  region  is  generally  of  a  loose 
and  fine  texture.  There  is  nearly  always  present  in  the 
soil  sufficient  sand  to  prevent  the  soil  becoming  heavy. 
In  large  portions  of  the  humid  regions  the  soil  is  underlaid 
with  clay  in  such  a  way  that  the  storehouse  for  water 
is  limited,  or  there  is  danger  of  the  burning  out  of  the 
soil.  But  this  is  seldom  fru^  in  the  semi-arid  country. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  131 

In  fact  it  is  well  known  that  by  far  the  larger  proportion 
of  the  soils  of  the  semi-arid  country  is  of  almost  unlimited 
depth  and  of  uniform  texture.  This  is  an  advantage. 

DIFFERENCE    IN     THE    RAINS. 

In  Farmer's  Bulletin  266,  published  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C.,  we  find  also 
some  discussion  of  the  difference  in  the  rains  of 'the  differ- 
ent sections.  The  Bulletin  says: 

"There  is  an  important  difference  in  character  between 
the  rains  of  the  east  and  those  of  the  west.  The  summer 
rains  of  the  west,  and  especially  of  the  plains  country, 
consist  largely  of  infrequent  heavy  showers.  If  the  soil 
be  open  and  deep,  this  rain  sinks  deeply  into  the  ground. 
As  previously  mentioned  the  hot  sun  and  drying  winds 
of  the  semi-arid  regions  rapidly1  dry  the  topsoil  and  this 
forms  a  mulch,  or  covering,  which  retards  evaporation. 
Light  showers  in  a  dry  time  do  very  little  good.  They 
wet  the  surface,  and  if  the  water  extends  to  the  moist 
soil  below,  water  from  below  actually  flows  to  the  surface 
over  the  wet  soil  grains,  and  the  water  of  the  light  shower,  as 
well  as  some  of  that  previously  in  the  soil,  is  lost  by  evap- 
orating into  the  air.  In  humid  countries,  where  much  of 
the  precipitation  consists  of  frequent  light,  slow  falling 
rains,  with  much  cloudy  weather,  the  surface  dries  more 
slowly,  giving  less  protection  to  the  lower  soil,  so  that 
much  more  water  is  lost  from  the  soil  as  a  whole  than 
would  be  the  case  if  the  same  quantity  of  water  came 
in  less  frequent  rains,  provided,  of  course,  the  heavy  rains 
all  sink  into  the  soil." 

Bear  in  mind  that  it  is  practically  always  and  ever 
true  that  the  soil  of  the  semi-arid  country  is  in  the  best 
possible  condition  for  soaking  up  all  of  the  water  rain 
which  falls.  If  it  is  perfectly  dry  down  to  a  great  depth 


132  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

it  will  not  take  up  water  as  it  should,  but  if  only  the  sur- 
face is  dry  and  beneath  is  found  comparatively  moist 
soil, — a  condition  which  prevails  where  there  is  the  right 
cultivation — then  this  soil  will  take  up  the  moisture. 
The  only  problem  then  left  is  to  save  this  moisture. 

A    DIFFERENCE    IN    THE  SOILS. 

In  Farmers'  Bulletin  257,  of  the  Department  of  Ag- 
riculture, we  find  Professor  Whitney  relating  an  incident 
which  nicely  illustrates  the  difference  between  the  semi- 
arid  country  and  the  humid  regions.  He  said: 

"Some  years  ago  I  saw  some  interesting  soils  in  Cal- 
ifornia. In  some  of  the  valleys  they  have  soils  that  will 
produce  a  crop  without  any  rainfall  during  the  period  of 
growth.  At  a  point  near  Los  Angeles,  which  I  visited 
one  September,  they  had  a  tobacco  field  which  had  been 
planted  in  April  or  May  and  had  produced  a  crop  which  had 
been  harvested.  A  sucker  crop  had  been  allowed  to  grow, 
and  in  September  they  were  cutting  the  sucker  crop, 
which  had  made  a  fair  growth  and  was  then  in  a  very 
flourishing  condition.  The  tobacco  had  had  no  rain  since 
it  was  planted,  but  had  been  cultivated  throughout  the 
season  as  we  do  our  crops  in  the  east.  With  my  hands 
I  could  scrape  off  the  surface  and  get  down  to  moist  soil. 
The  wells  of  that  district  showed  the  table  water  was 
forty  feet  below  the  surface.  Such  an  occurrence  appears 
a  very  remarkable  fact  to  us  here  in  the  east,  where  we 
suffer  if  the  rain  does  not  come  within  two  or  three  weeks. 

"In  trying  to  find  out  the  reason  for  those  peculiar 
conditions  in  some  of  the  western  soils,  the  fact  presented 
itself  that  in  those  localities  they  have  a  very  dry  air,  a 
very  hot  climate,  and  usually  very  strong  winds  that 
dry  out  the  surface  rapidly.  They  have  about  18  or  20 
inches  of  rain  during  the  winter.  After  the  rains  stop  in 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  133 

April,  if  they  immediately  cultivate  their  surface  soil  and 
get  it  completely  dried  out,  they  thereby  conserve  the 
moisture,  because  any  subsequent  loss  through  evapo- 
ration will  have  to  come  from  evaporation  within  the  soil, 
and  that  is  very  slow,  although  slow  evaporation  does  take 
place  within  a  soil.  If  you  fill  a  tumbler  with  moist  soil 
and  put  it  in  the  window  in  the  sunshine,  you  will  find 
that  the  heat  of  the  window  sill  frill  make  the  temperature 
of  the  bottom  of  the  soil  higher  than  the  temperatiure  of 
the  surface;  you  will  then  get  evaporation  from  the  bottom, 
and  the  bottom  soil  will  dry  out  quicker  than  the  top." 

He  did  not  explain,  however,  the  direction  which  the 
vapor  takes  which  he  says  is  in  the  soil.  Evaporation 
takes  place  only  when  there  is  some  open  avenue  of  escape 
for  the  water  in  the  form  of  vapor.  There  is  no  evapo- 
ration from  a  hermetically  sealed  box. 

It  was  no  doubt  a  matter  of  great  surprise  to  Prof. 
Whitney,  as  it  has  been  to  many  others,  to  find  crops 
grown  in  the  semi-arid  country  without  any  rainfall  during 
the  growing  season.  They  had  a  right  to  feel  surprised 
when  they  scraped  off  the  surface  with  their  hands  and 
found  moist  soil  just  beneath,  and  this  where  there  had 
not  been  rainfall  for  months.  And  investigation  would 
have  shown  exactly  why  the  store  house  for  water  still 
had  a  supply  on  hand  for  the  use  of  the  growing  plants. 
We  have  gone  to  many  of  our  fields  in  Nebraska,  Kansas 
and  Colorado  during  similar  periods,  with  doubting  Thom- 
ases, who  were  equally  as  surprised  as  was  Prof.  Whitney, 
especially  in  1894-5,  and  also  1901-2. 

DRAWBACKS    TO    THE    HUMID    REGION. 

The  story  of  the  California  tobacco  crop  was  told  to  a 
company  of  Maryland  farmers,  and  continuing  in  response 
to  questions,  Prof.  Whitney  further  explained: 

"  Conditions  here  are  rather  unfavorable  for  the  con- 


134 


trol  of  moisture,  because  of  our  frequent  rains.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  while  we  suffer  if  we  do  not  get  rains,  we 
should  actually  be  better  off,  as  they  are  in  the  arid  re- 
gions of  the  west,  if  we  did  not  have  any  rain  during  the 
growing  season  and  had  a  means  of  providing  water  when 
we  wanted  it.  There  is  no  question  that  the  arid  con- 
ditions of  agriculture  with  water  for  irrigation  permit 
the  most  perfect  system  of  cultivation.  Such  a  system 
is  much  more  efficient  and  crops  are  under  much  better 
control,  if  the  conditions  are  handled  intelligently,  than 
they  are  here  in  the  east.  The  trouble  with  us  is  that  we 
cannot  maintain  this  dry  mulch.  After  a  rain  we  plow 
or  cultivate  just  as  soon  as  we  can  and  we  get  the  surface 
moderately  dry;  then  another  rain  comes  on,  and  if  we 
think  we  can  afford  it,  we  cultivate  again ;  then  still  an- 
other rain  comes,  and  we  try  again  to  get  the  surface 
dry.  If  you  cultivate  your  soil  after  a  rain  just  in  the 
right  time  to  catch  the  moisture  in  the  soil,  then  if  you 
have  a  drouth,  cultivate  by  all  means,  keep  cultivating 
and  you  will  do  much  toward  saving  your  crop.  The 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  has  told  of  a  very  disastrous 
drouth  while  he  was  professor  of  agriculture  in  Iowa, 
when  he  saved  his  corn  crop  and  got  a  normal  yield  by 
constant  cultivation  during  the  dry  season,  while  his 
neighbors  had  almost  a  complete  failure.  As  I  told  you, 
it  all  depends  on  the  skill,  the  judgment,  and  the  chance 
which  led  you  to  begin  operations  at  the  right  time.  If 
you  knew  what  was  coming  you  could  save  your  crop 
during  any  ordinary  period  of  drouth." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  it  is  no  new  discovery  that 
conditions  in  the  semi-arid  regions  are  radically  different 
from  those  in  the  more  humid  regions,  and  especially  the 
character  of  the  soil  and  its  adaptability  to  the  best  pos- 


135 

sible  cultivation,  it  is  somewhat  strange  that  so  little  ha» 
been  done  in  making  practical  investigation  of  what  should 
be  done  in  the  west  to  assure  good  farming  operations. 

IDEAL    FARMING    COUNTRY. 

The  vital  truth  is  that  the  so-called  semi-arid  region 
is  almost  ideally  adapted  to  best  agriculture.  The  soil  is 
of  the  right  texture  and  capable  of  being  handled  to  the 
best  advantage.  The  soil  has  all  the  elements  necessary 
for  the  highest  degree  of  soil  fertility.  There  is  compar- 
atively no  loss  by  the  washing  away  process.  There  is 
no  carrying  away  of  the  surface  bodily  so  that  the  subsoil 
must  be  transformed.  There  is  practically  no  loss  from 
drainage.  The  soil  is  easily  made  loose  when  that  is 
wanted  and  easily  compacted  when  that  is  desired.  In 
short,  no  soil  is  seemingly  more  ideal  for  general  farm  op- 
erations. 

Then  the  very  fact  that  the  atmosphere  is  dry,  as  a 
rule,  is  of  great  advantage,  and  yet  so  many  had  supposed 
it  a  detriment.  The  rain  comes  in  the  form  of  a  heavy 
shower,  and  when  it  is  over  there  is  a  dry  atmosphere 
which  quickly  takes  up  the  water  from  the  surface,  and 
with  prompt  action  with  the  cultivator  the  formation  of- 
a  soil  mulch  is  therefore  easily  encouraged  and  of  a  na- 
ture that  is  very  effective. 

In  short  it  is  in  the  semi-arid  region  that  the  farmer 
can  best  secure  that  ideal  soil  condition  that  enables  him 
to  control  the  moisture  which  is  needed  for  the  growth  of 
the  plant. 

Therefore  we  say  again  that  no  man  engaged  in  farming 
in  the  semi-arid  sections  has  any  excuse  for  offering  apol- 
ogies. He  has  the  best  natural  conditions  for  good  farm- 
ing. It  only  requires  that  he  apply  science  and  a  reason- 
able amount  of  well  directed  labor,  and  his  results  are 


136  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

more  certain  than  with  the  farmer  who  lives  in  a  region 
where  there  must  be  a  good  deal  of  guessing  as  to  the 
soil,  the  rain,  the  sunshine,  and  the  wind. 

The  semi-arid  section  having  more  sunshine  and  less 
rain  makes  it  possible  to  not  only  prepare  the  soil  into 
the  most  ideal  seed  and  root  bed,  but  it  is  also  possible  to 
keep  the  soil  about  the  feeding  roots  constantly  supplied 
with  the  necessary  amount  of  both  air  and  water.  These 
coupled  with  heat  and  light  cause  nitrification  as  well  as 
other  chemical  action  through  which  almost  unlimited 
plant  elements  are  made  available,  and  it  is  because  of 
these  facts  and  the  further  fact  that  such  conditions  can 
not  be  so  readily  and  so  continuously  sustained  in  sections 
of  greater  rainfall  and  more  cloudy  weather,  that  the 
semi-arid  sections  have  the  advantage  of  greater  average 
yields  at  less  average  cost,  when  work  is  scientifically  done. 


CAMBPELL'S  SOIL  -(.'iTi/mii-;  MANUAL  137 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CULTIVATION  OF  THE  SOIL. 

The  cultivation  of  the  soil  embraces,  in  a  general  way, 
about  all  of  farming  that  relates  to  crop  growing,  but  in 
a  more  restricted  sense  it  relates  merely  to  the  treatment 
of  the  surface  of  the  soil  during  the  crop  growing  period. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  £o  good  farming  that  the 
farmer  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  philosophy  of 
soil  cultivation.  He  must  be  able  to  consider  why  the 
surface  is  cultivated,  how  best  to  cultivate  it,  why  different 
kinds  of  cultivation  are  necessary  under  different  condi- 
tions, the  implements  to  use,  the  time  of  cultivation  and 
the  frequency  of  cultivation.  As  already  known  to  the 
reader  who  has  conscientiously  followed  these  pages, 
no  general  rule  can  be  laid  down  for  any  portion  of  the 
work  incident  to  agriculture.  The  processes  nesessary  to 
securing  good  crops  cannot  be  put  on  a  diagram  that 
all  may  read.  The  most  that  can  be  done — and  this  ought 
always  to  be  sufficient — is  to  thoroughly  explain  the  gen- 
eral principles  and  make  clear  why  each  operation  is  per- 
formed and  to  tell  just  what  effect  may  be  expected  from 
following  any  given  line  of  work;  then  the  farmer  must 
apply  this  knowledge  intelligently  to  the  problems  which 
come  to  him  from  day  to  day  in  actual  experience  in  the 
fields. 

So  it  is  with  cultivation,  there  can  be  no  exact  rule 
as  to  depth,  or  time,  or  frequency  of  cultivation.  But 


it  can  be  made  clear  what  a  certain  kind  of  cultivation  will 
do  under  certain  conditions.  Then  if  the  farmer  knows 
what  he  wants  he  can  adapt  his  work  to  his  needs. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  discussion  as  to  the  value 
of  shallow  and  deep  cultivation.  Some  persons  have 
undertaken  to  make  entirely  too  much  of  one  or  the  other 
of  these  systems.  The  fault  is  that  they  have  not  always 
kept  in  mind  that  much  depends  on  the  character  of  the 
soil,  and  still  more  on  the  soil  and  atmospheric  condi- 
tions which  prevail  at  the  time  of  the  cultivation.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  make  an  argument  anywhere  in  the 
semi-arid  region  to  convince  the  farmer  that  the  old- 
style  of  cultivation  of  growing  crops  with  the  long  pointed 
shovels  is  not  proper  especially  in  the  light  soils  of  the 
west.  If  he  has  had  experience  he  knows  that  this  method 
of  cultivating  his  corn  or  potatoes  is  as  likely  to  do  harm 
as  to  do  good.  So  he  has  turned  to  shallow  cultivation 
as  the  natural  alternative.  But  it  is  possible  he  has  gone 
too  far  in  that  direction,  an  error  easily  made  and  quite 
common. 

Shallow  cultivation  is  not  very  well  understood.  There 
are  times  when  it  is  just  the  right  thing.  But  take  it,  for 
instance,  in  the  drier  portions  of  the  west,  where  the  at- 
mosphere is  free  from  moisture  and  the  altitude  is  high 
so  that  vaporizing  of  the  water  comes  at  a  low  tempera- 
ture, it  is  easy  to  cultivate  too  shallow.  A  little  deeper 
will  get  better  results,  because  it  is  necessary  to  have  a 
deeper  soil  mulch  to  protect  the  moisture  beneath. 

SHALLOW  VS.    DEEP. 

In  the  chapter  touching  on  the  growth  of  potatoes, 
th^re  will  be  found  two  illustrations  which  will  bear  study 
ir  connection  with  this  subject  of  shallow  or  deep  culti- 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  130 

vation.  In  cut  No.  20  is  shown  a  hill  of  potatoes  which 
was  grown  by  shallow  cultivation.  In  this  case,  it  is 
proper  to  add,  the  ground  was  first  plowed  eight  inches 
deep,  having  been  previously  disked,  the  plow  followed 
with  a  sub-surface  packer,  and  the  whole  portion  made 
thoroughly  fine  and  firm.  In  securing  this  illustration, 
the  lateral  roots  of  many  different  hills  were  washed  out. 
The  main  roots  running  from  the  stock  were  almost  in- 
variably found  to  have  traveled  in  quite  a  uniform  dis- 
tance from  the  surface  of  moisture;  the  little  branches 
running  out  from  the  main  roots  taking  various  directions, 
some  lateral  and  some  down. 

The  illustration  quite  perfectly  shows  all  these  im- 
portant facts.  Notice  the  two  and  a-half  inch  mulch,  and 
the  very  fine,  uniform  condition  of  the  balance  of  the 
furrow  or  plowed  portion,  where  may  be  seen  numerous 
roots.  This  represents  a  hill  of  potatoes  taken  from  a 
field  grown  on  our  farm  in  Brown  county,  South  Dakota, 
in  1894,  when  thirty-two  acres  of  high,  level  prairie  pro- 
duced an  average  of  one  hundred  and  forty-two  bushels 
to  the  acre,  and  this  in  a  season  when  almost  all  the  crops 
throughout  the  entire  semi-arid  belt  were  ruined  by  the 
extreme  drouth. 

In  Cut  No.  21,  we  give  another  illustration  of  potatoes 
grown  under  other  conditions.  This  .ground  was  treated 
practically  the  same  as  that  shown  in  cut  No.  20,  but  deep 
cultivation  was  applied,  and  less  frequent.  The  field 
was  cultivated  three  times,  cutting  fully  four  inches  deep, 
which  resulted  in  destroying  nearly  all  the  lateral  roots, 
while  the  other  field  was  cultivated  eight  times,  cutting 
about  two  inches.  The  difference  in  the  result  of  the 
two  crops  was  attributed  directly  to  the  treatment  of  the 
ground  after  planting. 


140  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

TIME  OF  CULTIVATION. 

These  illustrations  show  very  plainly  the  difference 
in  results  between  shallow  and  deep  cultivation,  but  they 
also  show  another  thing,  and  that  is  that  the  time  of  cul- 
tivation is  a  very  important  thing.  Deep  cultivation  will 
certainly,  under  some  conditions,  facilitate  the  evapora- 
tion and  waste  of  the  water,  and  sometimes  very  shallow 
cultivation  will  have  the  same  effect.  The  depth  of  the 
cultivation  may  well  be  varied  to  meet  conditions  as 
you  find  them. 

If  you  would  secure  the  greatest  possible  benefit  from 
the  labor  given  over  to  cultivation,  you  should  first  pro- 
vide yourself  -  with  some  fine-toothed  cultivator,  so  that 
the  soil  may  be  all  thoroughly  fined,  leaving  the  surface 
of  the  firm  soil  beneath  as  near  level  as  possible.  Then, 
great  care  should  be  taken  to  catch  your  ground  in  proper 
condition.  It  is  true  there  is  but  little  time  after  a  rain 
that  the  ground  is  in  the  best  possible  condition.  This 
is  the  time  when  the  free  water  has  all  percolated  below, 
and  the  soil  to  the  depth  which  you  wish  to  run  your  cul- 
tivator, is  simply  moist — neither  very  wet  nor  very  dry. 
In  this  condition  the  little  particles  seem  to  readily  sepa- 
rate, one  from  the  other,  then  your  stirred  soil  is  com- 
posed of  an  innumerable  number  of  little,  minute  lumps, 
forming  a  mulch  that  gives  you  the  highest  degree  of 
protection.  A  mulch  made  when  soil  is  in  this  condition 
will  never  blow. 

If  the  soil  be  too  dry  it  breaks  into  large  lumps,  which 
not  unfrequently  lie  in  such  manner  as  to  conduct  the 
air  through  the  large  spaces  between  them  down  to  the 
solid  and  firm  soil  beneath,  causing  much  loss  by  evapo- 
ration. It  is  needless  to  mention  the  difficulty  arising 
from  cultivating  soil  that  is  too  wet.  When  worked  it 


141 


becomes  what  is  known  as  "puddled,"  and  then  when 
dried  it  becomes  hard  as  brick,  and  a  heavy  rain  is  required 
to  even  dissolve  the  lumps  so  that  they  may  be  pulver- 
ized afterwards. 

SAVING    THE    MOISTURE. 

There  are  two  vital  points  in  regard  to  the  success- 
ful growing  of  crops  in  the  western  country.  The  first 
is  the  importance  of  getting  all  the  water  possible  into 
the  ground,  and  second,  using  every  possible  means  to 
conserve  or  retain  it  there. 

The  importance,  or  value,  of  a  little  additional  water 
is  shown  by  the  effect  of  snow  drifts  that  may  form  on 
the  field  from  any  cause.  The  increased  amount  of  moist- 
ure that  seems  to  find  its  way  into  the  ground  when  the 
snow  melts  invariably  makes  itself  apparent  in  the  grow- 
ing crop  as  soon  as  a  dry  period  begins  to  affect  the  crop 
in  the  least.  At  these  points  the  crop  always  holds  out 
longer,  sometimes  carrying  the  crop  over  to  another  good 
rain,  which  results  in  maturing  an  unusually  large  yield 
on  these  places,  while  the  balance  of  the  field  will 
not  yield  to  exceed  one-half  to  one-fourth  the 
amount.  Thus  a  gain  in  yield  of  wheat  of  probably  ten 
bushels  to  the  acre  is  the  result  of  perhaps  not  over  one- 
half  inch  of  additional  water  that  had  percolated  into  the 
ground.  The  enormous  evaporation  from  our  fields  under 
favorable  conditions  is  not  in  the  least  comprehended  by 
the  average  farmer  because  he  has  no  means  of  readily 
testing  and  proving. 

EVAPORATION     DANGER. 

The  danger  to  the  farmer  from  evaporation  cannot  be 
overestimated.  Therein  lies  the  whole  secret  of  good 
farming  in  the  semi-arid  region.  If  there  was  no  water 
lost  or  wasted  the  deserts  would  blossom.  Under  the 


142  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

heading  of  " Evaporation,"  we  have  given  the  results  of 
some  experiments  by  Professor  F.  H.  King  of  Wisconsin 
showing;  the  rapidity  with  which  moisture  \\ill  rise  through 
the  soil  by  what  is  known  as  capillary  attraction,  reach 
the  surface  and  pass  off  in  vapor  into  the  atmosphere  in 
a  single  day.  Not  until  the  farmer  begins  to  grasp  the 
vital  importance  of  keeping  even  a  little  additional  water 
in  his  soil  can  he  be  expected  to  use  all  diligence  due  in 
preventing  this  evaporation.  This  observation  of  the 
farmers  throughout  the  semi-arid  west,  during  the  grow 
ing  season  of  1901,  especially  Kansas  and  Nebraska, 
ought  to  be  amply  convincing  with  reference  to  the  value 
of  stored  water  in  the  soil.  There  were  frequent  remarks 
during  its  prolonged  and  severe  drouth  of  the  mid-surnmer 
with  reference  to  how  the  corn  continued  day  after  day 
and  week  after  week,  contending  against  this  extreme 
heat  without  rain,  without  showing  any  apparent  effect 
of  drouth;  but  this  was  simply  the  direct  result  of  the 
unusually  heavy  rains  in  early  spring  that  percolated 
down  into  the  soil,  in  many  instances  eighteen  inches  to 
two  feet  deeper  than  usual,  and  there  acting  as  a  reserve, 
continued  to  return  by  capillary  attraction  and  feed  the 
corn  plants  and  other  grain  until  it  was  exhausted.  In 
this  same  chapter  on  evaporation  we  make  mention  of 
seyeral  instances  where  the  early  disking  of  the  ground 
resulted  in  retaining  a  sufficient  amount  of  additional 
water  to  carry  a  crop  of  corn  through,  increasing  its  yield 
in  some  instances  as  high  as  twenty  bushels,  which  was 
not  secured  in  adjoining  fields,  not  disked,  simply  because 
the  moisture  was  allowed  to  evaporate  by  leaving  the  sur- 
face hard  and  compact,  as  is  always  the  condition  after  a 
heavy  rain  or  snow. 


143 


SOIL    CONDITIONS. 

To  be  successful  the  farmer  must  grasp  the  full  im- 
portance of  doing  all  his  work  just  at  a  time  when  the 
condition  of  the  soil  is  best  adapted.  The  idea  that  by 
plowing  today  we  may  get  ten  bushels  of  wheat  to  the 
acre,  when  if  we  plowed  the  ground  four  days  later  we  would 
get  fifteen  bushels  or  vice  versa  seems  rather  ridiculous. 
While  this  statement  and  the  figures  used,  may  in  most 
cases  be  a  little  strong,  yet  it  is  a  fact  that  the  average 
yield  of  a  field  is  frequently  increased  or  decreased  quite 
a  per  cent  by  a  few  days  variation  in  the  time  the  work 
is  done. 

This  is  especially  true  with  reference  to  cultivation. 
We  have  in  mind  a  case  near  Fremont,  Nebraska,  where 
the  'phenomenal  difference  of  fifteen  to  eighteen  bushels 
per  acre  was  made  by  cultivating  a  part  of  the  field  before 
a  heavy  rain  of  nearly  five  inches,  and  the  balance  of  it 
after  this  rain.  The  reason  of  this  remarkable  difference 
was  simply  what  we  have  been  dwelling  upon,  the  result 
of  retaining  a  large  per  cent  of  moisture  in  the  soil  mulch 
by  the  cultivation  after  the  rain,  that  was  lost  from  the 
balance  of  the  field  by  rapid  evaporation.  This  occurred 
in  July,  and  was  the  last  cultivation  preparatory  to  what 
is  called  laying  the  corn  by.  The  rain  was  a  very  heavy 
one.  The  part  of  the  field  that  was  cultivated  previous 
to  the  rain  was  left  with  the  thick  compacted  crust  made 
by  the  heavy  fall  of  water,  which  resulted  in  dissolving 
the  loosened  soil  and  settling  it  very  close,  thus  leaving 
the  surface  in  the  best  possible  condition  for  a  rapid  move- 
ment of  moisture  to  the  surface  and  evaporation.  Under 
another  head  we  have  explained  this  more  clearly.  The 
portion  not  cultivated  previous  to  the  rain  was  gone  over 


144  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

as  soon  after  the  drain  as  conditions  would  permit,  thus 
producing  a  perfect  protection  to  the  moisture  below, 
and  bringing  about  the  remarkable  result  referred  to. 

While  these  cases  cited  seem  like  extreme  instances, 
under  similar  circumstances  you  can  look  for  similar  re- 
sults. When  the  reader  begins  to  understand  the  direct 
effect  of  these  conditions  it  will  then  be  quite  clear  why 
a  light  crop  was  secured  when  a  good  crop  might  have 
been  harvested. 

TIME    OF    CULTIVATION. 

The  exact  time  for  the  cultivation  of  a  field  cannot 
be  fixed  by  any  arbitrary  rules.  Certain  things  can  be 
stated,  as  for  instance- 
Too  moist  soil  will  settle,  so  that  you  have  accom- 
plished nothing  by  cultivation. 

Too  dry  soil  will  break  up  into  clods  and  the  surface 
mulch  will  be  imperfect. 

Too  wet  soil  will  when  cultivated,  form  a  connection 
between  the  surface  and  the  subsoil,  so  that  moisture 
will  be  steadily  carried  to  the  surface. 

Too  dry  soil  will  be  left  by  cultivation  so  that  the  air 
goes  down  into  it  and  carries  away  moisture. 

But  you  should  always  cultivate  immeditaely  or  as 
soon  after  a  rain  as  the  soil  conditions  become  suitable. 
One  of  these  conditions  is  that  the  soil  does  not  adhere 
to  the  cultivator  or  tool  used.  Usually  soil  sufficiently 
dried  so  it  will  not  stick  will  be  such  as  will  form  the  right 
kind  of  a  mulch. 

We  do  not  mean  by  this  that  the  soil  should  be  abso- 
lutely dry  on  the  surface.  It  is  an  error  to  wait  for  that 
time,  for  the  moment  the  surface  is  apparently  dry  the 
crust  begins  to  form.  It  is  desirable  to  catch  the  ground 
just  before  this  time  when  all  the  soil  is  simply  moist, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  145 

and  then  there  is  a  free  and  ready  separation  of  all  parti- 
cles. In  this  condition  the  cultivator  runs  the  easiest, 
the  mulch  made  the  finest  and  lies  up  loose  and  light. 

The  judgment  of  the  farmer  must  be  used  with  great 
care  at  this  time.  He  must  bear  in  mind  just  what  he 
wants  and  try  his  best  to  get  just  such  condition  of  his 
soil. 

TIME    FOR   QUICK    WORK. 

There  is  no  time  in  the  year's  round  of  duties  when 
quick  work  even  at  the  expense  of  many  long  days  of 
labor  is  so  much  needed  as  at  the  height  of  the  growing 
season,  when  advantage  must  he  taken  of  every  rainfall 
that  favors  us. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  every  moment's  delay 
after  the  soil  reaches  the  proper  condition  causes  you  to 
lose  water  very  fast.  It  is  at  the  rate  of  a  quart  or  over 
per  square  foot  per  day,  providing  it  is  clear  sunny  weather, 
and  even  more  in  case  of  heavy  south  winds.  The  more 
intense  the  heat  the  more  frequent  it  is  necessary  to  cul- 
tivate. A  very  good  rule  is  to  watch  the  condition  of  the 
firm  soil  just  beneath  the  loose  mulch  or  cultivated  por- 
tion, and  whenever  the  surface  of  this  firm  soil  begins  to 
show  dry  ness  it  is  high  time  to  commence  cultivating 
again. 

We  cannot  impress  this  point  more  fully  upon  your 
mind  than  by  referring  you  to  that  chapter  which  tells 
of  the  crusting  of  the  orchard  on  the  Pomeroy  Model 
farm  during  the  extreme  dry  period  of  1901,  and  its  effect 
upon  the  growth  of  the  trees. 

We  had  a  simlar  experience,  but  more  clearly  illus- 
trated, in  the  cultivation  of  corn  in  Cheyenne  county, 
northwest  Kansas,  in  1898.  This  demonstrates  very 
clearly  the  great  importance  of  being  exceedingly  cautious, 


146  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

not  to  let  any  crust  form  under  the  mulch.  We  are  of  the 
opinion  that  many  corn  crops  have  been  seriously  injured 
by  that  condition,  when  with  no  more  available  moisture 
the  crop  would  have  come  out  all  right  had  it  not  been 
for  this  crust. 

KEEPING    MULCH  IN  CONDITION. 

There  are  many  important  reasons  why  great  care 
should  be  taken  to  keep  the  mulch  in  perfect  condition 
and  prevent  the  loss  as  far  as  possible  of  any  moisture  by 
evaporation  from  the  surface  of  the  soil.  The  following 
paragraph  taken  from  Professor  King's  book  on  "The 
Soil,"  conveys  some  important  information  along  this 
line.  We  quote  this  because  it  bears  the  figures  of  his 
own  practical  observation  at  various  depths  in  the  soil, 
showing  the  effect  not  only  of  the  surface  soil  getting  too 
dry,  but  of  light  showers.  He  says: 

"When  the  surface  soil  has  its  water  contents  reduced 
so  the  upper  six  to  twelve  inches  are  beginning  to  get 
dry  the  rate  of  capillary  rise  of  water  through  it  is  decreased 
and  it  begins  to  assume  the  properties  of  a  mulch.  But 
when  this  condition  has  been  reached  if  a  rain  increased 
the  thickness  of  the  water  film  on  the  soil  grains  without 
causing  percolation,  the  capillary  flow  may  be  so  certain 
that  the  surface  foot  draws  upon  the  deeper  soil  moisture 
at  a  more  rapid  rate  than  before,  causing  a  translocation 
of  the  lower  soil  moisture,  the  deeper  soil  becoming  meas- 
urably drier  soon  after  such  a  rain  than  it  was  before, 
while  the  surface  foot  is  found  to  contain  more  water 
than  has  fallen  upon  it." 

He  cites  experiments  as  proof  of  this  important  prin- 
ciple. Some  of  his  experiments  were  very  interesting  and 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  147 

instructive,  showing  that  by  wetting  the  surface  capillary 
attraction  was  so  increased  as  to  show  that  moisture  had 
moved  up  from  the  fourth  and  fifth  foot  below. 

This  emphasizes   the   fact   that   the   tiller  of  the  soil 
should  understand   these   conditions   that  he   may  know 
just  what  to  do  to  get  the  best  possible  yields. 
CONCLUSIONS. 

In  closing  this  chapter  we  venture  to  repeat  that  we 
may  emphasize  some  things  taught. 

Winter  wheat  will  not  winter  kill  in  firmed,  moist 
soil,  while  in  loose  soil  it  frequently  thins  out  or  kills 
out  entirely. 

A  fine,  firm  root  bed,  with  a  loose  surface  or  mulch, 
is  a  condition  that  will  withstand  the  extreme  dry  periods 
longest  without  any  injury  to  the  plant. 

Study  well  the  question  of  thoroughly  pulverizing  and 
packing  the  lower  portion  of  the  plowing;  a  full  under- 
standing v)f  its  importance  means  many  dollars,  because 
it  means  a  larger  crop  result. 

Subsurface  packing  increases  the  moisture  in  the  lower 
portion  of  the  plowed  ground  and  induces  decomposition 
of  the  weeds,  stubble,  or  manures  that  have  been  turned 
under,  thereby  adding  humus,  the  all  important  ingredient 
for  rapid  plant  growth,  as  well  as  enabling  the  plant  to 
withstand  drouth. 

If  you  would  get  your  soil  to  a  condition  of  fineness 
and  firmness,  do  all  your  work  to  that  end  when  the  soil 
is  just  slightly  moist,  for  it  then  plows  better,  packs  better, 
and  cultivates  better.  Do  not  go  to  work  on  plowed 
ground  that  is  dried  to  the  bottom,  whether  plowed  in 
good  condition  or  not,  and  expect  in  any  way  to  get  the 
lower  portion  of  the  furrow  in  good  condition.  You  may 
improve  it.  The  closer  you  keep  to  the  plow  the  better 
you  can  pack  the  under  portion. 


148  CAMBPELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


BAYNYARD  MANURES. 

The  use  of  barnyard  manures  in  enriching  the  soil  has 
become  so  universal  that  it  seems  almost  strange  that 
in  large  areas  of  the  country  but  little  use  is  made  of  it. 
In  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in 
other  countries,  there  is  no  need  for  argument  to  con- 
vince the  farmers  of  the  great  value  of  barnyard  ma- 
nures. They  have  demonstrated  it  many  times.  They 
do  not  waste  any. 

In  the  western  states,  more  especially  in  the  semi- 
arid  regions,  farmers  have  come  to  have  an  entirely  differ- 
ent view  of  the  value  of  the  barnyard  manures.  In  the 
entire  belt  it  is  probable  that  at  the  present  time  a  large 
proportion  of  the  barnyard  manures  are  burned  or  thrown 
away.  This  is  all  wrong.  In  no  section  of  the  country 
is  the  soil  of  such  a  character  as  to  respond  more  quickly 
and  effectively  to  the  use  of  barnyard  manures  and  in 
no  place  will  the  effect  of  such  manures  last  longer,  or 
be  of  such  permanent  improvement. 

There  is  the  best  possible  reason  for  this.  The  soil 
is  light  and  naturally  rich  in  the  primary  elements  neces- 
sary to  fertility.  But  it  is  also  well  adapted  to  holding 
moisture,  and  there  is  in  fact,  no  great  drainage  of  the 
water.  There  is  much  loss  of  the  value  of  manures  in 
regions  where  the  rainfall  is  heavy,  for  the  under  drainage 
carries  away  the  best  part  of  it.  In  the  semi-arid  belt 


CAMPBELL'S    SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL  149 

there  is  none  of  this  loss  of  fertility  by  drainage.  The 
light  rainfall  is  therefore  a  distinct  advantage  in  the 
treatment  of  manures. 

But  there  is  difficulty  in  making  the  best  possible 
application  of  manure.  The  atmosphere  is  dry  and  the 
soil  may  remain  dry  for  a  long  period,  so  that  the  ma- 
nure lies  dormant  on  top  of  the  soil.  This  is  not  condu- 
cive to  nitrification  or  decomposition,  and  many  farmers 
have  failed  to  get  good  results.  Then  it  is  a  fact  that 
in  the  barnyard  manure  as  it  is  gathered  in  this  dry 
country  there  is  much  loose  and  coarse  straw  in  an  al- 
most perfect  state  of  preservation,  not  very  well  fitted 
for  helping  the  soil.  When  the  manure  is  plowed  under, 
as  it  must  be  to  get  the  best  results,  the  soil  is  so  loose 
and  light  that  there  is  not  sufficient  weight  to  press  the 
whole  down,  and  make  such  a  compact  mass  as  best 
serves  to  make  a  good  bed.  The  soil,  with  the  fresh 
fertilizer  mixed  in,  has  retained  an  open  and  porous  con- 
dition down  to  a  considerable  depth,  which  proves  a 
detriment  to  the  soil,  with  the  natural  result  that  the 
crop  burns  out  and  weeds  gain  the  ascendency.  The 
throwing  of  coarse  manure  on  the  top  of  the  ground, 
leaving  it  in  bunches,  then  plowing  it  under  without 
special  care  in  packing  is  of  little  value.  In  fact,  this 
system  of  applying  manure  brings  about  a  condition 
frequently  much  worse  than  if  none  had  been  applied. 
Especially  is  this  true  in  the  semi-arid  region,  where 
much  greater  care  must  be  taken  to  get  the  manure 
perfectly  mixed  with  the  soil. 

MANNER   OF   APPLYING 

The  best  results  have  always  been  had  in  the  semi- 
arid  country  by  having  the  manure  applied  with  a  spread- 
er, then  using  a  sharp  disk  to  double-disk  the  surface, 


150  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURED  MANUAL 

thus  mixing  the  manure  to  a  considerable  extent  with  the 
top  three  inches  of  soil.  We  followed  this  by  plowing 
six  or  seven  inches  deep,  using  a  rod  on  the  beam  to 
turn  everything  under.  This  is  then  followed  by  the 
sub-surface  packer  which  treatment  results  in  firmly 
packing  the  soil  and  manures  firmly  at  the  bottom  of 
the  furrow.  The  reader  should  refer  back  to  cuts  No. 
1,  2,  3,  and  4,  especially  to  note  what  we  mean  in  \his 
regard.  The  plowing  under  of  manure  that  has  not 
been  well  distributed  is  likely  to  leave  the  ground  as  in 
cut  No.  1,  which  is  evidently  a  condition  that  will  not 
only  waste  the  natural  strength  of  the  soil,  but  be  waste- 
ful to  the  manure  that  has  been  turned  uncler.  By  use  of 
the  sub-surface  packer  the  mixing  is  not  only  made  per- 
fect, but  the  manure  is  brought  into  actual  contact  wth 
the  soil,  when  the  proper  processes  bring  about  the  de- 
velopment of  the  humus.  Only  slight  moisture  is  neces- 
sary to  develop  the  decomposition  if  the  mixing  is  well 
done;  much  moisture  will  hardly  suffice  if  the  mixing 
and  packing  is  not  done. 

The  history  of  our  experience  in  this  matter  well  illus- 
trates the  common  experience  of  others.  In  1882  upon 
a  South  Dakota  farm  we  gave  a  liberal  coating  of  barn- 
yard manure,  plowed  it  under,  and  worked  it  down  as 
best  we  could  after  the  manner  usually  practiced  in  old 
Vermont.  The  rainfall  during  that  season  was  quite 
liberal  and  timely.  The  piece,  about  five  acres,  was  plant- 
ed to  corn  and  well  cultivated,  with  such  good  results, 
that  we  decided  to  treat  the  manure  question  with  the 
same  care  and  economy  as  we  were  wont  to  do  in  the 
East.  The  same  plan  was  followed  out  in  1883,  with  a 
total  loss  of  all  the  crops  which  were  planted  on  that 
ground.  A  small  attempt  was  made  again  in  1884,  with 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  151 

the  same  poor  results.  For  several  years  after  this  wt 
followed  the  usual  plan  of  the  western  farmer,  of  hauling 
it  out  and  using  any  possible  method  to  get  rid  of  it. 

REMARKABLE     RESULTS 

But  the  remarkable  results  each  and  every  year  from 
the  field  where  the  manure  was  applied  in  1882,  was  too 
convincing  of  its  value.  For  ten  successive  years  this 
entire  quarter  section  was  put  into  wheat.  Every  year 
in  the  early  stages  of  the  growth  of  the  wheat,  the  shape 
of  this  five-acre  field,  which  was  in  one  corner  of  the 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  was  perceptible  both  in 
the  color  of  the  wheat  and  the  development  of  the  stools, 
and  almost  invariably  at  harvest  time,  the  grain  on  this 
little  piece  would  be  from  four  to  eight  and  ten  inches 
higher  than  the  balance  of  the  field,  and  yielded  invari- 
ably from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent  more. 

With  much  study  along  these  lines,  and  several  ex- 
periments, to  find  out  why  such  remarkable  results  were 
obtained  from  this  field  and  why  we  could  not  succeed 
in  later  attempts,  we  were  finally  able  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem fully.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  mixing  the  manures 
into  the  soil  as  much  as  possible,  and  then  firming  the 
under  portion  of  the  furrow  slice,  thoroughly  packing 
manure  and  soil,  followed  with  careful  cultivation,  when 
the  sam  eresults  may  practically  be  attained  any  year 
that  were  secured  in  the  seasons  referred  to,  when  we  had 
the  unusual  amount  of  rain  scattered  along  at  proper 
periods  at  just  the  right  time  to.  produce  decomposition. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  formation  of  our  soil  is  such 
that  manures,  when  properly  applied,  very  materially 
aid  us  in  carrying  our  crops  through  the  dry  periods  and 
preventing  the  serious  effects  of  the  drouth,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  the  humus,  which  is  decomposed  veg- 


152 


etable  matter,  very  materially  increases  the  water-hold- 
ing capacity  of  our  soil.  The  more  humus  we  have  in 
the  soil,  the  greater  is  the  number  of  particles,  conse- 
quently the  greater  amount  of  surface  to  hold  water. 
It  also  aids  in  the  movement  of  moisture  through  the 
soil,  and  in  the  encouragement  and  development  of  root 
growth. 

.  The  existence  of  the  humus  in  the  soil  we  know  to 
be  absolutely  necessary  to  successful  growing  of  crops. 
It  is  where  this  humus  abounds  that  we  find  the  great- 
est development  of  nitrates  in  the  soil,  not  alone  because 
nitrates  are  carried  into  the  soil  with  the  fertilizer  as  a 
part  of  it,  but  because  of  the  chemical  action  which  takes 
place  in  the  soil.  A  good  deal  is  said  about  the  carrying 
of  nitrates  into  the  soil,  and  in  certain  crops  gathering 
the  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  storing  it  in  the  soil,  but 
the  fact  is  that  the  greater  portion  of  the  nitrates  in  the 
soil  are  prepared  there  by  the  chemical  action  which  is 
always  stimulated  by  barnyard  manures. 

PERMANENT   EFFECTS. 

There  is  one  great  advantage  in  the  practical  use  of 
barnyard  manures  in  the  semi-arid  belt.  The  effect  is 
more  lasting  when  the  manure  is  properly  applied 
than  in  the  soils  of  the  more  humid  regions.  In  these 
latter  regions  the  greater  rainfall  lias  a  tendency  to  wash 
out  the  humus  below.  This  trouble  of  washing  out  is 
especially  perceptible  in  the  gravelly  soils  of  New  York 
and  the  New  England  states.  There  is  another  advan- 
tage of  the  semi-arid  belt  which  will  be  appreciated  when 
these  facts  are  better  understood  by  the  masses,  for  our 
observations  so  far  clearly  show  that  manures  are  even 
more  valuable  here  than  in  the  east,  not  that  our  soil  is 
not  fertile,  but  the  more  humus  we  have  in  the  soil  the 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  153 

more  water  will  each  square  inch  of  soil  hold,  and  conse- 
quently our  soil  is  safer  and  less  liable  to  suffer  from 
drouth.  There  is  but  little  expense  attached  to  an  ex- 
periment to  ascertain  the  correctness  of  our  assertions 
on  this  subject,  and  were  you  to  make  them,  you  would 
find  more  and  surer  profit  from  them  than  from  govern- 
ment bonds.  The  sub-surface  packer  is  a  very  valuable 
tool  in  securing  immediate  results  from  manure.  Exam- 
ination of  the  illustrations  in  this  book  will  make  this 
very  clear,  and  the  matter  is  not  exaggerated  in  the 
least. 

MANURE    AND  WATER. 

Professor  Goff  in  his  book  oh  principles  of  plant  cul- 
ture, says:  "Much  of  the  benefit  of  manuring  undoubt- 
edly comes  from  the  increased  capacity  it  gives  the  soils 
for  holding  and  transmitting  water." 

Professor  King  says  in  his  book  on  soils,  that  in  three 
years'  experiments  with  barnyard  manures  he  found 
"That  for  manure  fallowed  ground  the  surface  foot  con- 
tained eighteen  and  one-fourth  times,  or  four  thousand 
and  eighty-seven  gallons  more  water  per  acre  than  ad- 
jacent and  similar  but  unmanured  land  did;  while  the 
second  foot  contained  nine  and  one-fourth  tons  and  the 
third  six  and  one-third  tons  more  water,  making  a  tctal 
difference  in  favor  of  the  manured  ground  of  thirty-fcui 
and  one-third  tons  or  eighty-five  thousand  gallons." 

We  would  advise,  where  it  is  possible,  to  plow  manure 
uder  in  summer  tilling  fields,  and  in  doing  this  it  will  be 
found  that  far  less  seed  is  needed  for  best  results. 

ECONOMY   IN   SEED. 

The  use  of  manure  has  such  an  important  bearing 
on  the  proper  preparation  of  the  seed  bed  that  its  right 
use  may  go  a  long  way  toward  saving  in  the  use  of  seed 


154  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

grain.  The  stalk  sent  up  from  an  imperfect  seed  bed 
is  of  slow  growth  and  scant  of  leaves.  The  stalk  which 
runs  upward  from  a  perfect  seed  bed  spreads  out  and 
probably  branches,  and  the  leaves  are  abundant  and 
strong.  If  there  is  an  abundance  of  humus  in  the 
soil  there  is  stooling  out  of  the  stalk  so  that  instead  of 
one  upright  stem  there  are  two  or  three  or  mayhap  a 
dozen  stems  sent  up  to  bear  flowers  and  grain.  It  there- 
fore follows  that  where  manure  has  been  used  in  a  man- 


A  Modern  Manure  Spreader. 

ner  to  develop  in  the  soil  the  greatest  amount  of  humus, 
so  that  plant  food  is  more  than  sufficient  for  the  needs 
of  the  plant,  a  very  much  smaller  quantity  of  seed  should 
be  sown  per  acre  than  on  soil  less  favorable  to  growth. 
If  there  is  too  much  seed  per  acre  the  grain  will  stool 
too  much  and  make  so  heavy  a  growth  that  it  will  stand 
up.  Heavy  stooling  results  in  the  weak  straw  carrying 
down  the  grain,  and  in  this  condition  the  grain  will  not 
full  and  it  often  happens  it  cannot  be  harvested. 

The  right  use  of  manure  therefore,  partially  compen- 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  155 

sates  itself  in  the  economy  in  use  of  seed.  In  no  one 
thing  are  mistakes  more  common  than  this  of  the  right 
amount  of  grain  for  the  fields  in  the  semi-arid  belt. 

THE    MANURE    SPREADER.       . 

While  the  manure  spreader  is  a  very  valuable  farm 
implement  from  a  time  saving  point,  yet  its  great  value 
lies  in  the  fact  that  the  manure  is  thoroughly  torn  into 
small  pieces  and  very  evenly  distributed  over  the  surface 
of  the  field.'  It  will  pay  for  itself  in  a  short  time  provid- 
ing the  farmer  will  use  great  care  in  mixing  the  manure 
with  the  soil,  plowing  it  under  at  a  fair  depth  and  then 
firming  the  soil  with  a  sub-surface  packer.  It  only  takes 
a  little  manure  per  acre  and  a  little  intelligent  mixing 
and  preparing  of  the  soil  to  easily  double  the  present  aver- 
age yield. 

Barnyard  manure  must  be  handled  with  good  tools 
and  be  treated  as  something  distinctly  valuable.  To 
throw  it  upon  the  land  and  trust  to  luck,  is  worse  than 
time  wasted. 


156  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XX. 


CORN   GROWING. 

Corn  is  a  crop  which  requires  a  season  a  little  longer 
than  small  grain  and  the  crop  does  not  thrive  best  where 
the  nights  are  cool,  so  that  the  northern  limit  of  the  corn 
belt  is  easily  reached.  But  with  care  corn  may  be  grown 
far  north  in  a  satisfactory  manner  and  is  a  good  crop  in 
a  large  part  of  the  semi-arid  region.  The  care  referred 
to  relates  to  the  preparation  of  the  seed  bed,  the  previous 
fitting  of  the  soil,  the  manner  of  planting,  the  time  and 
manner  of  cultivation.  No  crop  is  more  responsive  to 
good  treatment  than  corn.  No  crop  suffers  more  from 
carelessness  or  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  farmer. 

The  first  thing  a  farmer  must  consider  is  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  soil.  Corn  is  a  crop  which  demands  culti- 
vation during  the  growing  season,  put  it  also  demands 
a  preparation  quite  equal  to  that  of  wheat  or  other  grains. 
Among  the  hills  of  New  York  and  New  England  the 
farmers  give  a  great  deal  of  care  to  the  preparation  of 
the  soil  for  the  corn  crop,  for  the  farmers  have  learned 
by  experience  that  it  is  poor  economy  to  put  good  seed 
corn  into  badly  prepared  ground.  It  is  on  the  corn  fields 
that  they  most  generally  use  barnyard  manure,  and  it  is  not 
infrequent  that  they  treat  the  corn  ground  to  from  $2 
to  $4  worth  of  fertilizing  per  acre,  there  being  many 
places  where  this  seems  to  be  necessary  every  year  if 
good  crops  are  to  be  had. 

Professor  Bailey,  of  Cornell  university,  has  well  said 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  157 

that  no  after  cultivation  can  make  amends  for  a  poor 
job  of  preparation  of  the  soil.  This  applies  with  much 
more  force  to  the  semi-arid  belt  than  it  does  to  the  east- 
ern sections  of  the  country. 

In  Illinois  and  other  states  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
the  soil  is  more  fertile  and  rain  usually  ample  so  that 
no  fertilizers  are  required  and  when  the  rains  are  ample 
and  timely  two  or  three  ordinary  cultivations  during  the 
growing  period  produce  a  good  crop  of  corn,  But  even 
there  they  are  beginning  to  leased  the  value  of  conserving 
the  water  by  more  frequent  and  timely  cultivation,  'be- 
cause of  dry  periods  that  are  likely  to  come  at  any  time. 
They  are  also  learning  that  the  breaking  up  of  the  crust 
which  has  formed  on  the  surface  after  a  rain  is  valuable 
because  it  admits  the  air  to  the  soil  and  makes  the  corn 
grow  better.  But  with  us  in  the  semi-arid  belt,  more  at- 
tention must  be  given  to  the  preparation  of  the  ground. 
We  cannot  depend  upon  heavy  rains  to  aid  us  in  dissolv- 
ing and  settling  our  soil,  consequently  we  must  give 
close  attention  to  every  part  of  the  work. 

The  first  thing  in  order  in  the  spring  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  soil  for  corn,  is  the  early  disking  which  should 
be  a  double  disking  in  order  to  thoroughly  pulverize  the 
surface,  bearing  in  mind  that  every  act  should  be  with 
a  view  to  storing  and  providing  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  water  in  the  soil.  Early  disking  covers  the 
two  important  points  referred  to,  that  of  preventing  evap- 
oration and  opening  up  the  surface  to  receive  the  later 
rains.  This  done  we  simply  wait  for  the  proper  time 
for  further  preparation  and  planting,  always  being  in 
readiness,  however,  to  loosen  up  the  surface  at  any  time 
should  we  get  a  rain  of  any  magnitude. 


158  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

USE    OF    THE    LISTEK. 

There  is  some  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  what  is  the 
best  way  to  plant  corn.  We  prefer  the  use  of  the  lister 
over  that  of  the  check  rower,  especially  in  the  higher 
altitude  or  in  the  northern  states  where  the  nights  are 
cooler,  which  results  in  heavier  suckering  or  stooling. 
The  additional  shoots  are  very  detrimental  to  the  corn 
crops,  especially  should  we  have  a  dry  season.  In  the 
humid  sections,  and  on  the  rolling  land,  we  still  prefer 
the  check  rower. 

There  is  one  distinct  advantage  in  the  lister  which 
is  worth  a  great  deal  to  the  farmer  in  some  cases.  When 
there  are  symptoms  of  suckering,  or  the  conditions  are 
such  as  to  cause  this,  we  may,  by  filling  the  furrow  and 
covering  up  the  young  shoots  destroy  them  completely 
and  with  ease.  The  higher  the  altitude  and  the  drier 
the  atmosphere,  the  deeper  is  it  necessary  to  cultivate 
in  order  to  produce  a  deeper  mulch  to  prevent  evapora- 
tion. In  using  the  lister  on  ground  where  the  moisture 
has  been  carefully  preserved  by  disking  and  harrowing 
in  the  early  spring  it  is  quite  important  to  follow  the 
lister  with  some  tool  to  thoroughly  pulverize  the  moist 
soil  that  is  thrown  up  as  such  soil  soon  assumes  a  dry 
and  a  very  hard  condition  which  is  afterwards  difficult 
to  manage.  There  ought  always  to  be  enough  time  so 
that  the  surface  of  the  soil  can  be  cared  for  after  planting 
and  before  it  is  necessary  to  begin  the  corn  cultivation. 
The  best  tool  for  treating  the  soil  surface  at  this  period 
is  the  weeder.  The  long  and  flexible  teeth  lap  down  on 
the  side  of  the  furrow  or  ridge  as  thrown  up  between  the 
rows  and  quite  completely  pulverize  the  large  clods  that 
are  thrown  up  by  the  lister,  leaving  a  perfect  circle  with 
a  nice  fine  mulch  over  the  entire  surface.  This  puts 


159 

your  ground  in  magnificent  shape,  especially  in  the  sand 
soils  of  the  semi-arid  belt,  so  that  you  can  continue  the 
use  of  the  weeder  by  going  lengthwise  of  the  ridges  and 
completely  destroy  the  weeds  before  they  assume  any 
size/  keeping  your  mulch  in  perfect  condition  to  prevent 
evaporation,  going  over  the  ground  after  each  rain,  as 
in  the  cultivation  of  other  crops,  watching  the  condition 
very  closely  in  order  that  you  may  catch  the  ground  just 
when  slightly  moist  before  the  crust  has  begun  to  form. 
This  does  away  with  the  weed  cutting  idea. 

THE    WEED    PROBLEM. 

The  importance  of  getting  ahead  of  the  weeds  and 
keeping  them  down  cannot  be  overstated.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  select  words  from  the  English  language 
with  sufficient  force  to  impress  upon  the  average  farmer 
the  serious  detriment  to  crops  of  even  the  small  weeds. 
To  get  a  good  corn  crop  the  weeds  must  be  kept  out. 
And  it  is  far  easier  to  keep  the  weeds  from  growing  than 
it  is  to  kill  them  after  they  have  become  strong.  An 
illustration  of  what  can  be  done  in  che  semi-arid  belt 
will  be  given. 

On  the  Kilpatrick  ranch,  in  Chase  county,  Nebraska, 
in  1903,  two  hundred  and  seventy  acres  of  listed  corn 
were  handled  in  this  manner.  The  weeder  used  was  the 
combination  weeder  and  harrow  made  in  sections  the 
same  as  the  common  steel  harrow.  This  is  an  implement 
that  will  be  soon  on  the  market  generally,  and  its  use 
will  be  common.  We  used  enough  sections  to  cover  six 
rows  of  the  corn,  and  the  entire  rield  was  gone  over  four 
times  before  any  other  cultivator  was  used,  and  the  corn 
was  then  about  eight  to  ten  inches  high.  The  suckers 
or  stools  were  from  two  to  five  inches  long.  A 
two-row  riding  cultivator  with  two  wide  shovels  on  each 


160 


side  was  then  used  throwing  the  soil  from  the  ridge  over 
the  suckers  to  cover  them  up  and  practically  leveling  the 
ridges  down.  A  few  days  later  it  was  with  considerable 
difficulty  that  a  sucker  could  be  found,  in  fact,  with  care 
and  catching  the  corn  at  proper  height  the  suckrs  can 
all  be  destroyed.  The  cultivator  was  followed  with  the 
weeder,  which  practically  leveled  the  surface.  The 
corn  was  now  ten  to  fifteen  inches  high  and  scarcely  a 
broken  stalk  could  be  found,  owing  to  the  fact  of  the 
flexibleness  of  the  teeth  and  that  the  drag  or  weeder  bars 
were  seven  inches  high.  The  field  was  gone  over  five 
times  with  a  weeder,  that  took  in  six  rows;  and  this  cost 
less  than  to  have  gone  over  once  with  a  one-row  cultiva- 
tor and  twice  with  a  two-row  cultivator.  This  made  the 
total  cost  of  eight  cultivations  equivalent  to  less  than 
two  and  a-half  times  over  by  the  old  plan.  The  corn 
made  over  forty  bushels  to  the  acre.  Many  other  similar 
illustrations  of  what  can  be  done  might  be  cited  in  the 
country  just  east  of  the  Colorado  line. 

In  growing  listed  corn  we  do  not  believe  in  very  deep 
listing,  but  in  thorough  cultivation  from  early  spring 
until  the  crop  is  put  in,  then  consider  fully  that  ample 
moisture  and  air  must  be  in  the  soil  and  that  weeds  grow- 
ing in  a  corn  field  live  on  your  best  corn. 

We  will  never  get  the  high  limit  in  yield  by  listing 
corn  into  the  unplowed  land.  The  plowing  of  the  land 
to  a  good  depth  in  the  autumn,  following  with  the  sub- 
packer  well  weighted,  then  early  spring  culture  and  list- 
ing shallower,  would  bring  much  better  results.  In  short, 
a  three-row  lister  is  now  being  perfected  for  fields  thus 
fitted  and  a  three  row  cultivator  will  also  be  ready 

CHECK    ROW    PLANTING. 

Early  plowing  is  absolutely  necessary  in  making  use 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  161 

of  the  check  row  planter.  The  earlier  the  ground  is 
plowed  the  better,  provided  it  is  not  plowed  when  too 
wet.  But  there  must  also  be  the  disking  process  in 
preparation  for  the  plowing,  for  the  problem  of  evapora- 
tion also  comes  in  very  early  in  the  year,  and  the  disking 
puts  the  surface  in  condition  to  prevent  this  and  to  en- 
courage the  percolation  of  the  later  rains  into  the  soil. 
The  use  of  the  disk  is  advisable  since  you  can  get  onto 
the  ground  with  the  disk  and  do  good  work  when  it  would 
be  too  wet  to  plow  at  a  proper  depth.  And  you  can 
cover  the  field  quicker  with  a  broad  gauged  disk  than 
with  the  plow.  It  also  enables  you  to  get  your  soil  in 
much  better  physical  condition  than  would  be  possible 
if  the  ground  were  allowed  to  dry  out.  The  plowing 
should  be  followed  up  soon  after,  but  remember  this  point 
— if  you  have  been  particularly  persistent  in  preventing 
this  evaporation  by  the  disking  your  ground  is  in  perfect 
condition  to  plow,  even  though  you  have  considerable 
dry  weather  later  in  the  spring.  The  soil  will  roll  up 
in  a  moist  condition,  and  is  susceptible  to  the  best  results 
with  the  packer  or  any  other  tool.  Follow  the  plow 
closely  with  the  packer,  at  least  every  noon  and  night. 
There  are  few  places  where  the  subsurface  packer 
turns  the  profit  it  will  in  following  the -plow  in  preparing 
a  field  for  corn.  An  experiment  on  the  Burlington  farm 
in  Phelps  county,  Nebraska,  in  1904,  where  a  strip  of 
land  in  a  field  being  prepared  for  corn  was  left  without 
packing,  the  following  facts  were  observed:  Germination 
was  four  or  five  days  slower;  the  stand  of  corn  much  less 
uniform  and  the  final  yield  per  acre  fully  fifteen  bushels 
less. 

WATCHING    THE    MOISTURE. 

Fall  plowing  is  preferable  at  all  times  where  the  crops 


162  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

can  be  handled  so  as  to  permit.  But  never  plow  when 
the  soil  is  dry.  It  is  better  to  wait  until  spring  and  then 
disk  early  as  indicated  above.  It  is  impossible  to  put 
too  much  stress  on  this  point,  and  some  farmers  seem 
never  willing  to  accept  the  reports  of  others  as  to  expe- 
rience. Nothing  short  of  paying  the  price  of  forty  bushels 
or  more  per  acre  of  shortage  will  convert  the  average 
man. 

A  most  beautiful  illustration  of  the  difference  in  crop 
yield  from  moist  and  dry  soil  was  developed  near  Verdon, 
Nebraska,  in  1906.  The  farmer  had  in  the  early  spring 
disked  a  part  of  a  1905  corn  field  to  raise  a  new  variety 
of  oats,  but  failing  to  get  the  seed,  the  entire  field  was 
a^ain  put  to  corn.  All  southeastern  Nebraska  was  very 
dry  that  spring.  By  the  time  the  man  was  ready  to  plow 
for  corn,  he  found 'the  undisked  portion  of  his  corn  field 
quite  dry.  The  field  was  plowed  crosswise  of  fb^  disked 
portion.  He  was  very  much  surprised  to  nna  tne  disked 
portion  moist  when  he  began  plowing,  but  very  much 
more  surprised  to  get  67  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  from 
the  disked  portion  and  only  41  bushels  per  acre  from 
the  undisked.  The  whole  field  was  treated  just  the  same 
after  planting. 

After  your  ground  is  turned  over,  and  the  necessary 
work  done  to  pulverize  the  surface,  watch  closely  the 
condition.  Whenever  any  rain  comes,  even  though  it 
only  wets  through  the  mulch  or  loose  soil  on  top,  it  is 
necessary  to  immediately  stir  it  to  dry  it  out. 

The  importance  of  quick  work  after  the  surface  has 
been  moistened,  even  by  a  slight  rain,  cannot  be  too 
strongly  urged.  In  the  use  of  the  check  row  planter  the 
difference  in  the  time  of  germination,  the  rapidity  of  the 
young  plant  in  ground  prepared  as  outlined  under  the 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  163 

head  of  plowing  and  sub-packing,  as  compared  with 
corn  put  into  the  ground  in  the  ordinary  manner,  is  inter- 
esting. The  growth  of  roots  as  shown  under  the  topic 
of  root  development  is  also  an  interesting  matter. 

AMOUNT    OF    SEED. 

Here  is  another  thing  about  which  there  is  a  great 
diversity  of  opinion  even  among  the  experienced  corn 
growers  of  the  west.  Perhaps  experiences  have  been 
different.  Condition  of  soil  and  climate  have  something 
to  do  with  it. 

But  do  not  put  in  too  much  seed.  Better  not  have 
all  that  you  think  ought  to  be  in  the  field.  There  are 
unquestionably  many  cases  where  light  crops  are  due 
to  the  presence  of  too  much  seed  in  the  ground.  Half 
as  many  stalks  growing  would  have  done  better  as  pro- 
ducers, and  the  crop  would  have  been  two  or  three  times 
as  great. 

The  remark  is  frequently  heard:  "If  you  don't  put 
in  the  seed  you  can't  get  the  crop,"  indicating  the  crop 
was  gauged  by  the  quantity  of  seed.  This  is  another 
mistake  and  is  beginning  to  be  more  generally  under- 
stood. The  strongest  evidence  along  this  .line  is  found 
in  some  experimental  work  which  we  conducted  in  1897, 
where  eight  ears  of  corn  were  raised  from  one  single 
kernel,  seven  of  these  were  well  developed  ears,  the 
eighth  having  corn  about  half  the  length  of  the  cob, 
both  the  upper  and  lower  ends  of  the  cob  being  bare  of 
corn.  It  may  not  be  generally  known,  but  it  is  a  fact, 
that  a  stalk  of  corn  starts  from  five  to  ten  ears,  and 
some  or  all  of  them  will  usually  be  abandoned  by  the 
stalk  before  the  ear  is  in  fact  developed.  Now  the  de- 
velopment of  these  ears  depends  entirely  upon  the  phys- 
ical condition  of  the  soil  and  an  ample  supply  of  avail- 


164  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

able  soil  moisture,  air  and  plant  food  at  all  times.  It 
is  true  there  are  instances ,  or  conditions  that  might  exist 
by  which  more  corn  might  possibly  be  got  from  two, 
three  or  four  stalks  in  a  hill  than  one.  These  would  be 
rare  cases,  and  where  by  extreme  heat  the  demands  upon 
the  supply  of  moisture  and  plant  food  might  suddenly 
destroy  the  vitality,  or  life  of  all  the  ears  that  were  started 
on  the  corn,  except  the  top  one.  Then  a  sudden  and 
liberal  rain  immediately  replenishing  the  soil  about  the 
roots  with  the  necessary  moisture  which  would  immedi- 
ately increase  the  available  supply  of  plant  food  and  push 
to  completion  the  single  ears  left  on  each  stalk,  when  we 
would  have  two,  three,  or  four  ears  to  the  hill  as  against 
one  ear  if  we  had  but  one  stalk.  Then  again  should  the 
dry  period  continue  longer  without  any  rain  we  might 
lose  all  the  ears,  because  the  demand  for  moisture  to 
supply  the  growth  and  development  of  two,  three,  or 
four  stalks  -would  be  just  that  much  greater  than  for 
one  stalk,  consequently  the  one  stalk  could  endure  the 
drouth  longer  without  suffering,  and  probably  reach  the 
next  rain  when  ample  moisture  would  mature  one  or 
two  good  ears  as  against  none  at  all  with  a  larger  number 
of  stalks. 

ROOT    DEVELOPMENT. 

The  number  of  ears  therefore,  does  not  depend  en- 
tirely on  the  number  of  stalks  growing.  It  is  substan- 
tially true  that  it  is  possible  to  secure  as  many  ears  from 
a  crop  with  one  kernel  in  a  hill  as  from  three  kernels  in 
a  hill.  In  the  semi-arid  region  it  is  much  more  prob- 
able the  one-kernel  crop  will  beat  the  three-kernel 
crop.  However,  where  there  has  bpen  storage  of  the 
moisture  and  the  soil  is  well  prepared  we  prefer  two 
kernels  in  the  hill  and  believe  that  we  can  get  best  results 
from  this  amount  of  seed. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


165 


In  the  accompanying  illustration  we  show  a  single 
stalk  of  corn  and  the  general  direction  and  development, 
of  roots.  This  illustration  was  made  from  several  care- 
ful investigations  of  the  location  and  development  o,' 


0-SEED  ROOT 
-FIRST  BOOT 
2-FIRST  CIRCLE 
3-SECOD  •- 
*•- THIRD  • 
S-FOUR  - 

ROOTS 


Development  of  Corn  Roots. 


corn  roots.  In  the  right  hand  corner  you  will  note  the 
figures  0  to  6,  each  indicating  the  circle  of  roots,  0  indi- 
cating the  first  development,  or  from  the  germination  of 
the  kernel  of  corn,  while  No.  1  indicates  the  second  growth 


166  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

of  roots,  which  almost  invariably  is  found  to  run  very 
close  to  the  surface  of  moisture.  The  depth  of  the  early 
cultivation  of  the  corn,  providing  we  have  no  immediate 
subsequent  rains  to  moisten  the  cultivated  portion, 
largely  regulates  the  location  of  these  roots,  therefore  it 
is  well  to  go  slightly  deeper  the  first  time.  No.  2  indi- 
cates the  third  line  of  roots,  which 'is  almost  invariably 
found,  although  starting  from  the  stalk  a  little  higher, 
to  make  its  way  to  a  lower  point  beneath  the  line  from 
which  roots  No.  1  seem  to  feed.  These  roots  although  only 
shown  in  the  illustration  as  being  single  roots  running 
to  the  right  and  left  as  we  look  at  the  stalk  of  corn,  yet 
there  is  an  entire  circle  around  the  stalk  running  in  every 
direction,  providing  the  condition  of  the  ground  is  such 
as  to  encourage  them.  Here  one  can. readily  see  the  im- 
portance of  cultivating  as  deep  the  first  time  as  in  any 
previous  cultivation,  for  these  roots  find  their  way  out 
through  the  soil  in  the  early  stages  of  the  growth  of  the 
plant.  Roots  No.  3,  which  is  the  second  circle  of  roots, 
are  what  are  properly  known  as  brace  roots.  These 
roots,  like  the  subsequent  roots  4,  5,  and  6,  find  their 
course  very  largely  straight  down  into  the  soil.  They, 
however,  convey  but  a  small  per  cent  of  moisture  and 
plant  food  to  the  corn.  This  being  almost  entirely  the 
work  of  the  roots  shown  by  1  and  2.  Here  in  this  illus- 
tration can  readily  be  seen  the  serious  results  from  deeper 
subsequent  cultivation,  which  might  result  in  cutting 
off  many  roots.  We  can  also  see  the  importance  of  all 
work  as  outlined  under  the  various  headings  referring  to 
the  preparation  and  care  of  the  soil  being  carefully 
carried  out. 

RESULT    OF    GOOD    CULTIVATION. 

Here   in   this   illustration   is   represented    corn   put   ni 


CAMPBELLS    SOIL.  CULTURE     MA N TAL 


167 


with  the  check  row  planter,  the  ground  plowed  fully 
seven  inches  deep,  thoroughly  pulverized  and  made  firm. 
Now,  supposing  we  have  carried  out  the  necessary  work 
to  have  stored  and  conserved  moisture  to  considerable 
depth,  five  or  six  feet,  with  our  plowed  ground  thor- 
oughly pulverized  and  made  firm,  we  have  the  best  pos- 


Cornfield  by  Campbell  System,  84  bushels  per  acre,  Lisbon,  N-  D. 

sible  condition,  as  stated  under  the  head  of  sub-sur- 
face packing,  for  the  three  all  important  conditions  which 
we  so  frequently  mention.  That  of  holding  the  greatest 
possible  amount  of  moisture  in  the  soil,  a  condition  to 


168  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

promote  the  most  rapid  movement  of  moisture  by  capil- 
lary attraction  from  the  sub-soil  up  into  this  finely  pul- 
verized portion.  Also  a  condition  most  favorable  to 
the  development  of  roots  and  root  hairs  or  feeders.  Care- 
ful investigation  of  fields  thus  prepared  after  the  stalks 
of  corn  have  reached  a  height  of  three  or  four  feet  will 
show  almost  a  perfect  network  of  these  little  roots  and 
feeders  throughout  the  entire  field.  Scarcely  a  spot  half 
an  inch  square  can  be  found  that  is  not  permeated  by 
many  of  these  little  hair  roots  seeking  the  moisture  and 
plant  food  therefrom. 

With  our  moisture  in  ample  quantities  below,  as 
stated,  and  this  perfect  condition  of  soil  and  develop- 
ment of  roots,  the  growth  and  development  of  a  magnif- 
icent crop  of  corn  now  depends  entirely  upon  the  time, 
manner,  and  kind  of  cultivation.  It  is  not  absolutely 
necessary  that  the  farmer  should  have  a  specially  fine 
toothed  cultivator.  The  eagle  claw  cultivator,  that 
carries  four  shovels  on  each  side  of  the  row,  is  probably 
the  best  in  general  use.  Again  we  must  repeat  the  im- 
portance of  watching  closely  the  condition  of  the  soil, 
that  as  much  of  the  work  as  possible  may  be  done  at  the 
time,  immediately  after  a  rain  when  the  soil  is  simply 
moist  and  the  soil  grains  seem  to  most  readily  separate 
one  from  the  other,  as  in  this  condition  the  most  perfect 
and  uniformly  fine  mulch  may  be  produced. 

In  connection  with  the  preparation  of  the  soil  the 
farmer  should  never  overlook  the  great  value  of  summer 
tilling  of  the  soil  with  a  view  to  bettering,  not  for  one 
season  alone,  but  for  many  seasons,  the  general  condition 
of  his  soil.  The  marvelous  results  reported  from  fields 
summer  tilled  in  preparation  for  a  crop  of  wheat  may 
be  expected  in  proportion  from  corn  crops,  and  it  is 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  169 

worthy  of  careful  experiment  by  every  farmer  in  a  test 
field.  Few  can  comprehend  or  believe  the  greatly  in- 
creased yield  possible  from  summer  tilled  fields  over 
ordinary  fitting  of  the  soil  for  crops  until  they  have  seen 
the  marked  results  from  a  test. 

BROAD    GAUGED   CULTIVATORS. 

Persons  who  have  learned  well  that  time  is  an  im- 
portant element  in  cultivation,  also  realize  that  appro- 
priate implements  are  necessary.  Cultivators  must  be 
built  on  the  broad  gauged  plan  if  farmers  are  to  be  suc- 
cessful in  cultivating  the  ground  when  it  is  in  just  the 
right  condition,  a  condition  that  does  not  long  exist 
after  a  rain,  and  manufacturers  are  trying  to  supply  this 
demand.  A  two  or  three-row  machine  is  very  important, 
that  we  may  cultivate  two  or  three  times  as  much  ground 
in  the  same  length  of  time,  and  when  the  farmers  come  to 
understand  the  importance  of  rapid  work  and  the  demand 
is  made,  such  tools  will  be  produced,  for  Yankee  ingenu- 
ity is  prevalent  in  all  our  big  manufacturing  establish- 
ments. 

The  fact  is  that  we  have  not  had  in  the  great  semi- 
arid  belt  any  season  when  it  was  not  possible  to  keep 
the  soil  in  such  condition  as  would  be  suitable  for  good 
crops  with  the  proper  machinery.  Such  conditions  as 
indicated  here  have  been  held  about  the  roots  of  the  corn 
by  proper  cultivation.  With  the  loose  mulch  on  top,  to 
a  depth  of  two  and  a-half  to  three  inches,  produced  when 
the  conditions  are  just  right  after  a  rain,  and  stirred  just 
often  enough  during  the  long  dry  periods,  we  can  prac- 
tically prevent  any  loss  whatever  by  evaporation  from 
the  surface.  This  accomplished,  the  perfect  physical 
condition  of  our  soil  and  complete  development  of  roots 
will  take  the  moisture  from  below  sufficiently  fast  to  pre- 


170  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

vent  practically  any  damage  from  extreme  drouth,  and 
produce  a  most  magnificent  crop  of  corn. 

THE    CORN    AREA. 

The  corn  area  is  greater  than  has  been  advertised 
Corn  is  not  limited  to  a  narrow  belt  running  through  the 
country.  Good  corn  has  been  grown  in  western  Florida 
where  it  was  once  supposed  no  corn  could  be  grown. 
Good  corn  is  being  grown  every  year  north  of  the  Canada 
line.  Good  corn  is  being  grown  on  farms  far  up  the 
mountain  slopes  of  the  west.  This  does  not  fit  in  well 
with  what  the  old  books  and  newspapers  have  been  telling 
us.  What  is  the  reason? 

It  is  not  that  we  have  got  new  varieties  of  corn  from 
Siberia  or  Patagonia,  nor  is  it  merely  that  we  have  been 
acclimating  corn  for  these  out-of-the-way  regions,  though 
a  great  deal  does  depend  on  the  selection  of  the  seed  for 
corn. 

It  used  to  be  said  everywhere,  and  it  was  believed  by 
everybody,  that  corn  could  not  be  grown  where  cool 
nights  prevail.  Our  best  authorities  also  declared  sol- 
emnly only  a  few  years  ago,  that  corn  could  not  be  grown 
north  of  Iowa,  nor  at  an  altitude  of  2000  feet  or  over. 
Now  we  find  large  yields  of  corn  have  been  grown  at 
various  places  in  North  Dakota  and  elsewhere  at  an 
elevation  of  over  6000  feet.  At  Walsenberg,  Colorado,  at 
an  altitude  of  6800  feet,  one  variety  of  corn,  an  early 
dent  variety,  has  been  grown  with  great  success  for  seven 
consecutive  years.  The  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  years, 
the  yield  was  over  40  bushels  per  acre.  The  acclimation 
of  this  corn  has  much  to  do  with  the  success  achieved, 
but  the  greater  part  of  the  success  is  due  to  the  fact  of 
a  better  understanding  of  the  soil  and  how  to  till  it. 

Corn  is  the  one  staple  crop  on  thousands  of  farms. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


171 


It  is  a  decidedly  profitable  crop  where  it  can  be  used 
rightly,  as  for  instance,  where  hogs  and  cattle  are  grown, 


Raised  by  Campbell  method.  Raised  by  common  method. 

Pomeroy  Farm  corn  grown  in  the  excessively  hot  weather  of  1901; 
Campbell  system  vs.  adjoining  farm. 


172  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

and  it  can  be  used  on  the  farm  for  feeding.  But  of  course 
its  cost  is  much  less  per  bushel  where  60  to  100  bushels 
are  grown  than  where  20  to  33  pushels  are  grown.  To 
raise  this  limit  means  dollars  to  the  farmer,  and  it  is 
therefore  worth  a  great  deal  to  him  to  make  a  study  of 
the  problem. 

SEED    CORN    TESTING. 

It  never  pays  to  plant  any  kind  of  seed  that  is  poor. 
In  one  respect  the  farmers  of  the  semi-arid  region  are 
favored,  because  the  climate  is  such  as  to  preserve  seed 
better  than  in  some  other  places;  but  in  another  respect 
they  are  at  a  disadvantage,  for  the  shortness  of  the  season 
may  prevent  them  from  gathering  mature  seed.  The  only 
safe  thing  to  do  is  to  gather  the  corn  for  seed  carefully 
before  the  frost  has  got  a  chance  to  injure  the  kernels, 
and  put  the  corn  in  a  place  where  it  will  dry  out  slowly 
and  surely  and  remain  dry  all  winter.  Selection  of  seed 
corn  from  the  field  before  the  regular  picking  of  corn  is 
undertaken  can  do  no  possible  harm,  and  it  may  be  the 
means  of  saving  an  entire  crop  in  after  years. 

Then  before  planting,  no  matter  how  careful  the  far- 
mer has  been,  it  is  to  his  advantage  to  make  a  thorough 
test  of  the  corn  he  intends  to  plant.  This  may  be  done 
in  a  variety  of  ways  that  will  suggest  themselves  to  every 
farmer.  The  testing  should  be  done  early  enough  so  that 
if  the  farmer  finds  that  10  or  20  per  cent  of  his  seed  will 
not  grow,  or  even  if  5  or  2  per  cent  produces  weak  stalks, 
he  can  supply  himself  with  seed  in  some  way. 

INVESTIGATE    AND    KNOW. 

The  facts  we  have  given  here  in  this  chapter  on  corn 
ought  to  suggest  to  every  farmer  in  the  semi-arid  region, 
especially  every  one  who  has  accepted  the  old  dictum 
that  corn  cannot  be  grown  here,  that  he  should  experi- 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  173 

ment  and  know  for  himself  whether  corn  can  be  made  a 
good  crop  on  his  land.  A  small  field  for  experimental 
purposes  is  easily  handled.  If  corn  can  be  grown,  and 
yields  of  from  40  to  75  bushels  secured,  it  is  folly  to  be 
trying  for  yields  of  from  10  to  25,  and  equally  bad  to  be 
devoting  the  land  to  some  other  crop  exclusively.  The 
farmer  who  wishes  to  intelligently  convince  himself  what 
is  best  for  his  particular  section  would  do  well  to  lay  off 
three  or  four  small  fields  and  try  corn  cultivation  under 
somewhat  different  conditions,  then  act  accordingly. 

TO    REMEMBER. 

Here  are  some  things  to  remember  in  connection  with 
the  growing  of  corn  in  the  semi-arid  regions: 

Plenty  of  water  in  the  soil  means  plenty  of  corn. 

No  after  cultivation  can  make  amends  for  a  poor  job 
of  preparing  the  soil  for  the  crop.  Do  not  forget  this 
fact. 

The  deeper  you  can  get  water  stored  down  in  the 
ground  before  planting  time  the  surer  you  are  to  get  a 
big  crop. 

Don't  get  too  much  taken  up  with  the  idea  of  shallow 
cultivation.  The  best  condition  is  with  from  two  and 
a-half  to  three  inches  of  fine  loose  soil. 

Be  ready  in  the  spring  before  the  ground  is  ready, 
then  at  first  chance  get  into  the  field  with  a  disk  and  go 
over  the  ground  intended  for  corn.  Nothing  can  pay 
better  than  this,  no  matter  whether  the  ground  was  plowed 
the  previous  fall  or  not. 

Cultivate  your  growing  corn  once  after  the  last  rain, 
even  though  you  may  think  you  do  not  need  the  water 
for  this  crop.  You  may  need  it  for  next  year  and  the 
time  to  save  it  is  just  after  it  has  gone  into  the  ground, 

Never  permit  a  crust  to  form  under  the  mulch.     It  is 


174  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

as  bad  there  as  it  would  be  on  the  surface,  and  it  will  form 
there  unless  you  watch  closely  during  long  periods  of  heat 
and  drouth. 

There  is  no  work  done,  cost  considered,  that  seems  to 
go  further  toward  increasing  the  yield  of  corn  than  that 
of  early  double  disking  where  the  land  is  not  fall  plowed. 

Do  not  permit  the  weeds  to  grow.  Every  weed  means 
less  corn.  They  are  silent  thieves  that  take  away  all 
that  you  have  saved  up  for  your  crops. 

Be  sure  of  your  seed. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  175 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


WHEAT. 

Wheat  is  one  of  the  great  staples  of  the  world;  bread 
made  from  wheat  flour  is  the  most  common  wholesome 
food  for  all  classes  of  people.  It  is  produced  over  a  very 
large  portion  of  the  world,  and  yet  an  over-production 
seems  impossible  except  that  it  may  be  from  a  local 
condition  at  a  time  following  a  shortage  in  a  country 
that  may  export  large  quantities,  a  sudden  shortage  by 
drouth  would  turn  other  purchasing  countries  to  other 
sources,  then  when  the  country  reached  its  normal  pro- 
duction again  it  might  find  difficulty  in  getting  the  same 
trade  back;  but  in  a  country  like  the  United  States  with 
its  city  population  so  rapidly  growing,  no  man  need  fear 
the  over-production  of  wheat  if  it  is  kept  steadily  on  the 
increase. 

The  main  object  of  this  chapter  is  to  show  how  fluc- 
tuation may  be  prevented  and  a  steady  advance  in  yield 
may  be  sustained.  One  thing  is  certain,  cheap  land  does 
not  mean  cheap  wheat;  cheap  wheat  is  produced  by  in- 
creasing the  yield  per  acre  without  materially  increasing 
the  labor  and  total  cost  of  production.  It  is  to  this  end 
we  have  spent  almost  a  life  time,  and  have  reached  the  point 
where  to  us  it  seems  ridiculous  for  a  farmer  to  own  a  por- 
tion of  land  and  spend  his  time  in  directing  the  work  and 
only  get  10  to  15  bushels  per  acre. 

There  are  no  good  wheat  lands  in  this  United  States 
that  .cannot  be  made  to  yield  three  and  four  times  this 


176  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

amount,  and  especially  is  this  true  in  the  great  semi-arid 
section,  and  that  simply  by  and  through  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  soils  and  their  cultivation. 

As  there  are  two  distinct  kinds  of  wheat,  spring  and 
winter,  and  the  time  of  seeding  so  widely  different,  we 
must  of  necessity  treat  them  under  the  two  headings. 

SPRING    WHEAT., 

Spring  wheat  in  the  northern  sections  and  on  up  into 
Canada,  has  become  a  very  important  crop.  In  preparing 
ground  for  this  crop  little  attention  has  been  given  in  the 
past  to  the  all  important  question  of  storing  and  conserv- 
ing the  rain  water.  It  has  been  simply  a  question  of 
plowing  at  any  time  when  the  farmer  was  ready  to  plow, 
the  seeding  and  harrowing  likewise,  without  reference  to 
the  condition  of  the  soil,  or  the  storage  of  water. 

From  1902  to  1906  there  has  been  a  growing  tendency 
to  early  fall 'plowing.  This  has  been  encouraged  largely 
because  of  the  possible  rain  of  sufficient  magnitude  that 
might  to  some  degree  dissolve  the  plowed  soil  and  settle 
it  more  compactly  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow.  The  ten- 
dency during  the  same  years  has  been  not  to  plow  more 
than  four  or  five  inches.  This  is  because  there  has  not 
been  any  general  knowledge  of  soil  physics  and  scientific 
soil  culture.  Therefore  the  attempt  to  overcome  one  evil 
by  committing  another  in  the  more  arid  portions  of  the 
wheat  belt  in  the  northwest  and  all  similar  sections.  The 
application  of  summer  culture  methods  as  outlined  in 
this  volume  would  greatly  improve  wheat  growing,  land 
values  and  prosperity  generally, 

As  previously  stated  during  the  past  seven  years  of 
our  very  marked  success  with  summer  culture  its  prin- 
ciples unfortunately  have  been  confounded  with  summer 
fallow.  This  fact  has  very  materially  retarded  its  general 


CAMPB-ELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  177 

endorsement  for  the  reason  that  almost  any  farmer  knows 
that  to  summer  fallow  tis  commonly  practiced  is  a  waste 
of  time  and  money.  In  the  semi-arid  belt  it  scarcely 
improves  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  and  does  not 
materially  increase  the  available  fertility.  While  we  have 
thoroughly  discussed  this  question  under  another  heading 
referring  especially  to  that  of  " Summer  Culture,"  yet  its 
work  is  of  such  great  importance,  and  the  additional  expense 
so  little  compared  to  results,  that  we  cannot  resist  a  repe- 
tition in  part.  If  the  work  is  properly  done  the  returns 
are  large.  Begin  first  in  the  early  spring,  just  as  soon  a» 
the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground,  arid  the  soil  sufficiently  dry 
to  permit  of  disking  without  the  soil  adhering  to  the  disk, 
lapping  half,  so  as  to  thoroughly  pulverize  the  surface,  thus 
putting  your  ground  in  condition  to  prevent  evaporation, 
as  well  as  to  admit  of  the  rapid  percolation  of  the  early 
rains  and  you  will  be  surprised  at  results.  Keep  the  sur- 
face harrowed  or  loosened  by  the  use  of  some  tool  to  the 
depth  of  at  least  two  inches,  plowing  in  June  or  July,  the 
time  when  the  other  work  is  least  pressing,  to  a  depth  of 
six  or  seven  inches,  following  the  plow  closely  with  the 
sub-surface  packer  and  let  the  packer  be  followed  closely 
with  the  harrow,  keeping  in  mind  that  all  important  point 
of  working  the  soil  when  it  is  in  the  best  condition  to 
most  thoroughly  pulverize,  continuing  this  surface  culti- 
vation after  the  plowing  through  the  entire  season.  In 
this  kind  of  work  in  the  northwest,  as  well  as  in  any  por- 
tion of  the  semi-arid  belt,  it  is  very  important  to  do  this 
surface  cultivating,  whether  it  be  with  the  common  harrow 
or  spring  tooth  or  disk,  at  a  time  when  the  soil  is  in  the 
best  possible  condition;  that  is,  simply  moist,  not  dry  or 
wet.  Then  you  have  a  fine,  even  soil  mulch  composed  of 
minute  lumps,  a  condition  you  cannot  get  if  the  soil  is  dry 


178 

or  wet.  It  is  when  soil  is  in  this  condition  that  the  par- 
ticles seem  most  readily  to  separate,  not  simply  into  dust 
but  these  minute  lumps  made  from  slightly  moist  soil  when 
dry  will  never  blow. 

Having  had  fifteen  years  experience  in  the  northwest 
we  are  well  aware  of  this  blowing  difficulty  on  the  lighter 
soils,  which  can  be  entirely  prevented  by  care  with  reference 
to  the  conditions  of  the  soil  -as  above  stated.  It  is  very 
desirable  in  following  this  plan  to  keep  the  weeds  entirely 
clean  from  the  field.  Don't  for  a  moment  encourage  the 
idea  that  weeds  are  valuable  to  turn  under,  for  there  is 
so  little  value  to  them  that  it  is  not  worthy  of  considera- 
tion, but  the  water  drawn  out  of  the  soil  by  these  weeds 
while  growing  is  far  more  valuable  to  the  coming  crop. 
Watch  it  carefully.  In  the  spring  time  try  to  catch 
this  ground  as  early  as  possible  with  the  harrow,  and  put 
in  your  seed  not  to  exceed  one-half  bushel  to  the  acre. 
This  quantity  is  ample. 

As  noted  in  the  following  section  of  this  chapter  the 
largest  yields  we  have  ever  got,  62  bushels  per  acre  of 
winter  wheat  on  summer  tilled  land,  was  grown  from  20 
pounds  of  seed,  one-third  of  a  bushel.  Notice  cut  No.  16, 
which  represents  the  ideal  condition  of  the  soil.  The  lower 
portion  of  the  furrow  or  plowed  portion  has  been  made 
fine  and  firm,  first  by  plowing  when  the  soil  was  in  perfect 
condition  to  plow,  as  explained  under  heading  of  "Plow- 
ing," then  fined  and  firmed  by  following  with  the  sub- 
surface packer,  and  the  surface  kept  loose  by  cultivation. 

THE    DKILL 

The  drill  used  is  what  we  term  the  closed  heel  shoe  drill, 
with  shoes  six  or  seven  inches  apart.  It  is  our  aim  to  let 
the  shoe  run  from  one-half  to  one  inch  into  the  firm  moist 
soil  beneath  the  mulch  as  shown  in  the  illustration  at  the 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


179 


left.  The  seed  is  deposited  in  the  bottom  of  a  "V"  shaped 
crevice,  as  there  it  rests  in  a  bed  of  moist  soil.  Germina- 
tion is  rapid  because  of  the  ideal  condition,  air  in  proper 
quantities  reaches  it  through  the  fine  but  loose  soil  above, 
and  moisture  is  plenty  because  the  kernel  is  closely  sur- 


Cut  No.  16.     Wheat  in  Three  Stages  of  Growth;  Kernel,  Single  Stalk 
and  Stooled  Out. 

rounded  bv  fine,  firm  soil  carrying  all  the  capillary  water 
it  can  hold,  which  is  quickly  given  off  to  the  kernel  as  soon 
as  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  many  moist  particles. 

In  the  center  we  have  the  blade  about  three  inches 
above  the  surface.  This  stage  of  growth  we  have  almost 
invariably  noted  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  after 
the  seed  is  deposited,  when  this  ideal  soil  condition  is  at- 
tained. Such  rapid  growth  of  the  stem  is  due  only  to  the 


180  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

fact  that  a  perfect  root  system  is  immedaitely  established, 
as  shown  in  illustration,  because  of  the  perfect  physical 
condition  of  the  soil  and  the  large  amount  of  available 
fertility  that  has  been  developed  by  the  summer  tillage. 
Remember  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  above  represent- 
ed is  very  easily  attained  in  all  semi-arid  sections. 

At  the  end  of  the  cut  we  have  the  same  kernel  a  little 
later.  Note  the  liberal  stooling.  The  one  lone  stalk  has 
developed  dozens  more,  and  why?  Because  of  the  enor- 
mous root  system  that  has  developed,  and  in  every  con- 
ceivable direction  from  the  bottom  of  the  stem  these  little 
rootlets  have  penetrated  the  soil,  from  these  little  rootlets 
thousands  of  little  hair  roots  or  feeders  are  drinking  in 
the  moisture  laden  with  plant  elements,  sending  it  to  the 
main  stalk;  but  small  as  it  is  it  cannot  begin  to  utilize 
all  that  this  little  army  of  food  gatherers  bring  in;  the 
result  is  another  stalk  and  another  until  enough  have 
pushed  their  leaves  into  the  sunlight  to  take  care  of  all 
that  is  gathered  in  and  provided  by  the  roots. 

Now  take  notice  that  we  are  approaching  a  possible 
big  crop  of  wheat,  for  it  is  probable  we  have  an  average 
of  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  heads  started  to  every  kernel 
we  planted.  If  we  can  finish  and  mature  a  good  head  on 
each  stalk  what  can  we  look  for  in  yield.  Two  things, 
both  of  which  are  largely  within  the  power  of  man  to  con- 
trol, must  be  previously  provided  for,  water  and  availa- 
ble fertility.  We  may  have  plenty  of  moisture  and  yet 
not  the  fertility;  moisture  can  be  stored  as  shown  under 
the  head  of  percolation.  Fertility  in  case  of  a  summer 
tilled  field  as  shown  above  was  developed  during  the  heated 
portion  of  the  season  when  the  soil  was  fine  and  firm, 
with  a  loose  mulch  over  the  surface  holding  the  moisture 
at  the  top  of  the  firm  soil  into  which  the  air  readily  per- 


181 

meated  after  passing  through  the  loose  mulch  on  the  sur- 
face. With  the  air  and  the  moisture,  through  the  medium 
of  heat  and  light,  chemical  action  takes  place  and  the 
available  fertility  is  the  result;  and  so  long  as  ample  moist- 
ure can  be  supplied  from  the  storage  below  by  that  wonder- 
ful phenomenon,  capillary  attraction,  which  never  fails 
to  do  its  part,  all  necessary  plant  elements  or  fertility 
are  ever  available  to  complete  the  big  crop. 

Remember  there  are  three  requisites  for  the  big  and 
sure  results,  a  perfect  physical  condition  of  the  soil,  fertility 
made  available,  and  ample  moisture  stored  below. 

KIND  OF   GRAIN  DRILL. 

That  the  drill  is  by  all  means  preferable  in  planting 
all  small  grain,  there  is  practically  no  denial.  Especially 
is  it  true  in  the  more  arid  sections,  but  there  are  many 
kinds  of  drills  of  the  more  common  makes,  as  there  are 
three  especially  different  methods  of  depositing  the  grain. 

In  cut  No.  17  we  show  practically  the  condition  of  the 
soil  after  one  of  each.  There  is  no  question  but  what 
many  will  criticise  some  of  our  ideas,  but  we  do  not  draw 
our  conclusions  from  theory  or  from  short  and  hasty  con- 
sideration, nor  without  careful  comparative  tests.  The 
disk  drill  is  quite  popular,  its  draft  is  light,  but  it  does  not 
leave  the  grain  in  anything  like  an  ideal  condition;  for 
the  soil  is  lifted  and  left  loose  over  and  around  the  kernel. 

Next  to  this  is  the  press  drill.  Note  the  difference  in 
germination  of  the  grain  of  the  two.  By  packing  the  soil 
onto  the  kernel  with  the  press  wheel  you  notice  more 
perfect  rooting  and  the  growth  is  considerably  in  advance 
of  the  grain  put  in  with  the  disk  drill.  The  press  drill 
has  its  objections,  especially  is  this  true  where  the  seed 
is  deposited  in  soil  that  has  not  been  sub-packed,  as  was 
the  case  from  which  we  secured  our  illustration. 


182 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTIKK   MANUAL 


In  seasons  of  normal  rainfall  with  the  usual  dry  period 
in  May  or  June,  the  condition  as  shown  would  bring  a  small 
yield  of  wheat.  The  action  of  a  press  wheel  is  somewhat 
coarse  and  loose,  or  we  might  say  the  soil  as  it  is  found 
by  ordinary  fitting  is  not  what  most  farmers  imagine.  The 
shape  of  the  packed  portion  is  much  the  shape  of  an  egg 
little  end  down,  as  shown  in  the  cut.  The  result  is  a  rapid 


Cut  No.  17.     Effect  of  Seeding  with  Three  Kinds  of  Drills. 

early  growth  of  roots  and  a  liberal  stooling;  the  roots  and 
rootlets,  however,  are  mainly  confined  within  the  finer  and 
more  packed  portion  as  shown  in  cut.  This  fact  we  as- 
certained by  cutting  a  deep  trench  across  two  rows  thus 
planted  and  with  a  fine  stream  from  the  nozzle  of  a  small 
hand-pump,  such  as  is  usually  used  to  wash  buggies  with, 
we  brought  out  the  conditions  shown.  Now  the  trouble 
usually  is  soon  apparent  when  a  dry  period  comes  on  after 
the  early  rank  growth  when  all  the  plants  and  all  the  stools 
are  obliged  to  depend  mainly  on  this  narrow  packed  strip, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  183 

and  we  have  noted  instances  when  three-fourthi  of  the 
stalks  or  stools  would  die  down  in  a  single  hot  day  simply 
because  the  root  system  was  too  narrow  and  the  movement 
of  moisture  by  capillary  attraction  too  slow  up  to  the  nar- 
row strip.  Because  of  the  excessive  heat  the  demand  of  the 
plants  for  moisture  was  greater  than  the  condition  of  the 
soil  could  supply,  and  therefore  the  little  strip  becomes 
depleted  of  its  soil  moisture  and  down  goes  the  plants  one 
after  another  to  the  number  that  can  be  fed  by  the  avail- 
able moisture  through  the  present  root  system. 

In  the  next  section  we  see  how  the  closed  hee!  shoe 
drill  has  deposited  its  seed  into  the  fine  firm  moist  soil. 
The  root  system  in  this  condition  is  not  only  perfect  on 
the  start,  but  is  lasting  because  the  entire  plowed  portion 
has  been  made  fine  and  firm  to  the  very  bottom.  These 
points  mean  much  when  you  consider  all  kinds  of  seasons. 
Farming  is  not  successful  farming  until  you  are  able  to 
overcome  all  possible  conditions  that  tend  to  a  small  crop. 

LISTING  WHEAT. 

During  the  past  few  years  of  desperate  efforts  to  over- 
come drouthy  conditions  and  to  if  possible  improve  on 
the  methods  of  insuring  annual  crops,  there  have  been  a 
number  who  have  tried  the  plan  of  putting  in  v/heat  with 
a  lister.  In  cut  No.  18,  we  show  the  plan  more  for  the 
purpose  of  putting  some  inquiring  minds  right  as  to  the 
real  merits  of  the  method  in  the  'conditions  which  follow. 
It  is  claimed  by  the  most  sanguine  advocates  that  the  great 
advantage  is  that  the  rains  run  down  into  the  bottom  of 
the  furrow,  then  on  into  the  soil  below,  to  the  roots  of  the 
plants,  and  cause  a  strong  healthy  growth.  But  close  in- 
vestigation shows  a  root  development  similar  to  that 
shown  in  the  cut,  and  that  instead  of  the  real  feeding  ground 
being  below  the  furrow,  it  is  in  the  ridges  between  the 


184 


CAMBPELL s  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


furrows,  because  here  it  is  that  the  most  ideal  condition 
exists.  The  mulch  that  lies  over  the  top  of  the  ridge 
prevents  the  moisture  escaping  even  more  completely 
than  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow  after  a  good  rain  which 
dissolves  and  packs  the  soil  in  the  bottom.  In  the  ridge 
between  the  rows  it  is  never  too  wet  and  always  moist,  as 
long  as  moisture  exists  below  and  with  the  proper  proper- 


iiiiiii 


Cut  No.  18.     Showing  Growth  of  Listed  Wheat. 

ties  of  air,  water,  heat  and  light,  fertility  is  available. 
Don't  ever  be  misled  into  the  idea  that  plants  feed  especi- 
ally close  to  the  plant  body,  but  rather  where  the  most 
ideal  conditions  exist. 

Then  again  be  careful  to  observe  all  the  facts  before 
drawing  a  conclusion.  Any  scheme  that  will  provide  the 
proper  proportion  of  moisture  below  has  an  advantage,  but 
bear  in  mind  that  moisture  is  not  the  only  element  to 
court. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


185 


PROPER    DEPTHS    OF    SEEDING 

Very  much  could  be  said  on  the  subject  of  the  proper 
depths  of  seeding,  for  the  reason  that  when  you  make  a 
statement  as  to  a  certain  depth  it  must  be  followed  with 
many  ifs,  pros,  and  cons;  therefore  we  bave  provided  cut 
No.  19  as  a  base  of  argument.  In  this  illustration,  how- 
ever, we  assume  that  we  have  the  ideal  soil  condition. 

At  one  end  may  be  seen  the  seed  too  shallow.  Under 
this  condition  germination  is  slower  and  the  plant  is  more 


A  i  /  /  /'//'! 


ABC 

Cut  No.  19.     Effect  of  Different  Depths  of  Seeding,     (a)  Too  Shallow 
Seeding,     (b)  Proper  Depth  of  Seeding,     (c)  Too  Deep  Seeding. 

quickly  affected  by  excessive  heat.  If  the  entire  soil  was 
fitted  in  the  more  common  loose  way  this  seed  would  have 
a  hard  time  to  exist  in  case  of  dry  weather. 

In  the  center  we  have  the  more  ideal  condition.  Here 
germination  is  more  rapid,  a  perfect  root  system,  and  prac- 
tically no  loss  of  time,  while  at  the  other  end  the  seed  was 
put  too  deep.  Germination  being  somewhat  slower,  a 
longer  period  is  required  for  the  first  leaf  to  reach  the  sun- 


186  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

light,  then  when  it  gets  to  the  proper  stage  for  growth,  a 
new  set  of  roots  form  just  at  the  point  where  air,  moisture, 
and  heat  seem  to  mingle  in  the  most  ideal  quantities.  Here 
the  complete  system  of  feeding  roots  is  established  and  the 
root  or  stem  from  there  down  to  the  kernel  withers  and' 
dies. 

What  is  here  shown  regarding  wheat  is  also  true  of  all 
other  grains,  corn  included.  One  of  the  main  points  we 
wish  to  establish  here  is  that  depth  of  seeding  does  not 
establish  the  depth  of  rooting. 

HARROWING    SPRING    WHEAT 

The  harrowing  of  spring  wheat  is  not  today  a  common 
practice.  Some  wheat'  growers  have  never  heard  it  agi- 
tated, but  more  do  not  believe  it  can  be  done  without 
causing  a  permanent  damage  to  the  crop;  and  yet  we  have 
noted  and  watched  results  where  a  part  of  a  field  was 
harrowed  and  a  part  left  unharrowed,  when  the  final  yield 
would  show  more  than  double  where  it  was  harrowed  than 
where  it  was  not  harrowed. 

The  harrowing  of  wheat  and  all  other  small  grain  is  a 
subject,  of  vital  importance,  but  like  all  other  branches  of 
soil  culture  there  is  a  right  and  a  wrong  condition,  a  right 
and  a  wrong  time,  a  right  and  a  wrong  manner  of  harrow- 
ing. 

SOIL   CONDITIONS 

The  first  condition  to  consider  is  the  soil  condition. 
Just  a  glance  at  cut  No.  16.  The  soil  at  what  we  term  the 
root  bed  is  here  shown  fine  and  firm.  Note  the  root  sys- 
tem. In  case  of  a  heavy  rain  that  would  dissolve  and 
settle  the  loose  mulch,  thereby  assisting  the  loss  of  our 
stored  water  below,  as  well  as  shutting  the  air  out.  Some- 
thing must  be  done.  Just  as  soon  as  the  surface  is  suffi- 
ciently dry  so  the  soil  will  not  stick  to  the  harrow  this 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  187 

field  must  be  harrowed.  While  you  may  destroy  some 
plants,  the  loosening  up  of  the  surface  brings  back  that 
ideal  condition  for  the  development  of  plant  elements  that 
means  so  much  to  the  growing  plant,  and  it  would  be 
better  in  many  instances  to  destroy  one  half  of  the  grain 
and  give  the  other  half  a  good  chance,  than  to  starve  out 
all  the  plants. 

That  soil  condition  most  favorable  for  the  perfect  root 
system  is  most  favorable  for  harrowing.  Never  harrow 
after  .the  surface  has  become  dry  and  hard,  but  always 
when  moist.  This  is  almost  invariably  possible  at  some 
opportune  time. 

THE    WEEDER 

There  is  no  place  where  the  weeder  that  is  properly 
constructed  plays  its  little  part  so  completely  as  upon 
a  field  of  wheat  or  other  small  grain  which  has  been  put 
into  a  field  that  has  that  ideal  condition  and  the  proper 
quantity  of  seed  has  been  sown.  The  surface  can  be  so 
nicely  loosened  and  yet  so  little  grain  is  destroyed,  be- 
cause of  the  flexibleness  of  the  teeth,  but  if  you  have  no 
weeder  use  the  common  lever  harrow.  But  if  your  soil 
has  been  left  so  light  and  loose  that  you  have  no  root  bed, 
then  be  careful,  for  it  is  better  that  you  summer  till  the 
field  and  get  two  or  three  crops  next  year,  than  to  chance 
a  failure  of  a  crop  on  a  piece  of  soil  so  unscientifically  fitted 
that  it  will  not  permit  of  harrowing. 

TIME    OF    HARROWING 

Care  must  be  taken  to  catch  the  soil  moist  if  possible. 
The  best  time  to  harrow  is  when  the  grain  is  beginning  to 
stool,  or  when  three  to  four  inches  high. 

If,  however,  the  field  should  unfortunately  pass  through 
the  spring  without  rain  enough  to  settle  the  mulch  it  is 
not  necessary  to  harrow.  Then  again  should  you  get  a 


188 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


heavy  rain  and  harrowing  had  been  done  and  a  second  rain 
.should  come,  it  may  he  necessary  to  harrow  again.  The 
great  effort  should  be  to  get  the  foliage  of  the  grain  to  cover 


Harvesting  Wheat  Fifty  Years  Ago. 

the  soil,  while  the  surface  is  still  loose,  in  order  that  there 
may  be  free  access  of  air  to  the  firm  soil.     Above  all  things 


CAMBPELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  189 

don't  look  upon  this  air  circulation  as  a  mere  fad  or  theory. 
Its  importance  and  great  value  has  been  proven  over  and 
over  again  in  our  work. 

AFTER    HARVEST 

When  a  crop  has  been  taken  off,  get  on  this  ground  as 
quickly  as  possible  with  the  disk  harrow.  Double-disking 
is  exceedingly  valuable.  The  small  size  disk,  fourteen  or 
fifteen  inch,  set  at  a  good  angle  will  quite  thoroughly  pul- 
verize the  ground,  but  with  the  larger  disk  it  is  impossible 
to  get  a  good  condition  without  double-disking.  Remem- 
ber that  the  object  is  to  thoroughly  pulverize  the  surface 
two  or  three  inches,  to  not  only  prevent  the  loss  of  any 
moisture  we  may  have  below,  but  to  have  the  ground  in 
the  best  possible  condition  on  the  surface  for  the  rapid 
percolation,  or  getting  of  the  rain  waters  down  into  the 
soil.  Lose  no  time  after  any  rain  in  again  loosening  the 
surface,  especially  upon  any  ground  that  you  may  have 
already  plowed.  After  the  disking,  plow  and  pack  and 
harrow,  as  stated  with  reference  to  summer  culture.  Should 
you  get  any  heavy  rains  late  in  the  fall,  lose  no  time  in 
loosening  the  surface  to  save  the  water,  for  you  may  need 
it  the  following  year. 

When  spring  time  comes  get  over  your  ground  as  quickly 
AS  possible  with  the  harrow,  aiming  if  possible  to  do  this 
before  the  surface  gets  dry,  put  in  your  seed,  not  too  thick, 
and  await  its  developments  when  it  reaches  the  stooling 
point,  which  it  will  do  early  in  the  season  if  your  ground 
is  in  the  proper  condition.  At  this  point  of  growth,  that 
is  when  the  wheat  is  beginning  to  stool  or  sucker,  go  over 
your  ground  with  a  long-toothed  weeder.  This  will  loosen 
the  surface  and  destroy  the  weeds.  The  checking  of 
evaporation  by  this  cultivation  will  urge  on  your  wheat, 
when  it  will  soon  cover  the  ground,  then  the  danger  of 


190 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


evaporation  is  much  less.  The  rich  prairie  soils  of  the 
Dakotas,  Minnesota  and  other  sections  of  the  northwest 
should  produce  thirty  to  fifty  bushels  of  spring  wheat 


EASTERN  COLORADO  WHEAT 

Crop  of  Forty-eight  Bushels  per  Acre  in  Eastern  Colorado  in  1906 
Without  Irrigation. 

instead  of  five  to  twenty,  and  will  if  the  soil  is  properly 
handled.     A  thirty  bushel  crop  should  be  got  any  year. 


CAMPBELLS    SOIL    CULTURE    MA-NUAL 


it/1 


Don't  think  for  a  moment  that  you  can  get  this  rapid 
growth  and  early  heavy  stooling  of  the  wheat  unless  your 
ground  is  thoroughly  fined  and  firmed  and  you  have  held 
the  moisture  below,  forming  a  seed  bed  in  which  there  will  be 
a  rapid  developmtnt  of  strong  roots  which  is  the  direct 
result  of  prolific  stooling.  The  use  of  the  weeder  or  har- 
row on  wheat  after  it  has  begun  to  stool,  or  is  three  or 
four  inches  high,  when  your  ground  is  loose  and  porous 


WYOMING  WHEAT. 

Showing  What  is  Being  Done  on  the  Fine  Prairies  Without  Irrigation. 

\vhere  the  roots  should  grow  is  not  always  a  safe  propo- 
sition. The  root  development  is  so  light  that  much  of 
the  wheat  may  be  easily  pulled  up  and  destroyed. 

WINTER  WHEAT 

Winter  wheat  is  a  little  different  proposition  from  the 
spring  wheat.  Here  again  we  believe  when  the  farmer 
in  the  winter  wheat  belt  has  learned  the  value  of  summer 


192  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

culture,  and  how  it  will  not  only  greatly  increase  the  av- 
erage yield,  but  make  a  failure,  so  far  as  drouth  is  con- 
cerned, an  impossibility,  a  larger  acreage  will  be  thus 
treated. 

This  part  of  the  Campbell  system  of  soil  sulture  if 
carried  out  to  the  letter  in  the  winter  wheat  sections, 
especially  where  the  crop  will  ripen  in  time  to  finish  cut- 
ting in  June,  will  certainly  revolutionize  wheat  growing, 
not  only  in  the  more  arid  sections,  but  in  the  more  humid 
sections. 

The  plan  should  be  in  case  of  old  land,  to  summer 
till  about  one-third  of  the  land  thoroughly  each  year  until 
the  entire-  field  has  been  gone  over,  then  follow  closely 
the  following  plan:  As  soon  as  the  crop  is  harvested, 
double  disk  the  field;  better  still  to  follow  the  harvester 
with  the  disk;  harrow  or  otherwise  cultivate  after  each 
subsequent  rain,  until  as  near  as  it  may  be  possible  to  the 
middle  of  July;  then  plow  and  follow  same  plan  as  is  laid 
down  for  summer  culture,  and  seed  again  at  proper  time. 

This  line  of  work  if  carefully  followed  after  one  season's 
thorough  summer  culture  will  result  in  further  big  crops, 
because  the  disking,  plowing  and  other  cultivation  during 
July  and  August  and  early  September,  gives  opportunity 
for  further  development  of  plant  elements  as  well  as  stor- 
age of  miosture  for  the  next  crop. 

The  experience  on  the  Pomeroy  model  farm  at  Hill 
City,  Kansas,  for  seven  years,  1900  to  1906  inclusive,  at 
the  Burlington  farm  at  Holdrege,  Nebraska,  from  1903  to 
1906,  inclusive,  and  many  other  points  in  western  Kansas 
and  Nebraska,  and  eastern  Colorado,  and  the  Panhandle  of 
Texas,  are  certainly  evidence  that  our  ideas  drawn  from 
twenty-seven  years  of  experience  and  observation,  repre- 
sent something  more  than  theory.  They  at  laast  carry 


CAMPBELL S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL 


19o 


very  strong  evidence  as  to  the  value  of  this  class  of  work, 
where,  by  this  very  careful  preparing  of  the  soil,  having 
plowed  about  seven  inches  deep,  followed  our  plow  closely 
with  the  sub-surface  packer,  and  the  packer  with  the  har- 
row, going  over  our  fields  immediately  after  the  heavy 
rains  or  as  soon  as  the  soil  was  sufficiently  dry  to  permit  it 


The  1904  Wheat  Crop,  Pomeroy  Farm,  Kansas. 

we  had  formed  a  fine,  firm  and  very  moist  seed  bed.  Under 
these  conditions  twelve  quarts  of  seed  was  found  to  be 
ample.  Its  germination  was  so  quick  and  the  rapid  de- 
velopment of  roots  brought  about  by  the  very  favorable 
physical  condition  of  the  soil,  caused  the  liberal  stooling, 
and  in  thirty  days  after  seeding  our  ground  was  nearly 
or  quite  covered  with  the  wheat.  The  immediate  disking 


194 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTUKE  MANUAL 


after  the  winter  wheat  crop  is  removed  is  of  very  great 
importance;  as  we  have  repeatedly  said,  it  is  of  two-fold 
value,  as  it  prevents  the  loss  by  evaporation  of  any  moist- 
ure in  the  soil,  and  puts  the  surface  in  the  best  possible 


Germination  of  Wheat  in  Soil  Properly  Fitted  and  in  Loose  Soil. 

condition  for  the  rapid  percolation  of  later  rain  waters. 
The  plowing  may  be  done  a  little  later,  and  to  get  the  best 
results  a  good  depth  of  plowing  is  necessary,  and  then  the 
plow  should  be  followed  with  the  sub-surface  packer.  Mark 
you,  we  are  after  a  condition  that  will  not  only  enable  us 
to  get  the  best  possible  results,  but  prevents  any  damage 
by  drouth  and  assures  gdod  crops  annually,  which  means 


CAMPBLL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  195 

prosperity  in  its  highest  degree.  A  fine,  firm  seed  bed, 
or  root  bed,  has  many  advantages  over  the  coarse,  loose 
condition. 

In  the  first  place,  one-third  only  of  the  seed  is  necessary, 
in  the  next  place  the  growth  and  development  of  the  plant 
is^much  more  rapid,  and  will  soon  cover  the  surface.  In 
the  third  place,  the  development  of  roots  is  much  greater, 
we  are  able  to  draw  moisture  and  plant  food  from  a  much 
larger  percentage  of  the  soil,  and  last,  but  not  least,  we 
have  a  condition  of  soil  that  will  hold  a  much  greater  per 
cent  of  moisture  as  well  as  one  having  a  greater  power 
of  capillary  attraction,  enabling  us  to  keep  up  the  supply 
of  moisture  which  we  draw  from  below,  where,  by  careful 
work,  much  of  the  rain  waters  are  stored,  that  under  ordi- 
nary conditions  would  have  been  lost  by  evaporation  or 
run  off. 

WHEAT THE    PIONEER'S    MONEY    CROP 

Wheat  is  the  money  crop  for  the  pioneer  and  will 
surely  put  him  on  his  feet  if  he  will  but  follow  Scientific 
Soil  Culture  to  the  letter,  whereby  he  makes  the  crop  a 
sure  one  so  far  as  the  general  climatic  conditions  may  go, 
but  when  once  on  his  feet  he  should  change  to  mixed  or 
real  farming. 

BURNING    STUBBLE 

The  question  of  burning  stubble  has  received  quite  a 
discussion  in  many  localities.  This,  however,  is  a  one- 
sided question.  Stubble  should  never  be  burned,  as  it  is' 
sending  up  in  smoke  what  means  much  to  the  soil. 

The  usual  and  only  difficulty  is  overcome  entirely  by 
the  use  of  the  sub-surface  packer.  See  cut  elsewhere. 

We  not  only  oppose  burning  stubble,  but  favor  cutting 
the  stubble  just  as  high  as  possible,  that  just  as  much 


196  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

vegetable  matter  as  possible  may  be  returned  to  the  soil, 
and  when  you  get  a  crop  after  summer  tilling  running  40 
to  60  bushels  per  acre  then  cut  it  as  high  as  you  can.  You 
can  bank  on  increasing  the  humus  to  some  degree  with  the 
enormous  root  growth  together  with  the  straw, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  11/7 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


GROWING  POTATOES. 

The  potato  is  another  crop  which  in  the  catalogue 
of  the  the  western  farmer  is  too  often  listed  with  the  things 
which  he  thinks  can  only  be  grown  where  there  is  an  abun- 
dance of  water  in  the  soil  for  the  plants  and  to  waste.  The 
potato  is  a  strong  grower  and  does  require  a  great  deal  of 
soil  fertility,  but  it  is  not  a  crop  to  be  confined  to  the  more 
humid  regions. 

There  are  persons  who  have  been  insisting  for  a  long 
time  that  the  only  thing  to  do  if  potatoes  are  to  be  grown 
in  the  west  to  supply  the  demand  for  home  consumption, 
some  new  variety  must  be  developed  or  imported  that 
will  better  suit  the  climatic  conditions.  This  is  a  vain 
hope  except  so  long  as  little  or  no  attention  is  given  to 
the  vitally  important  matter  of  the  proper  fitting  of  the 
soil  for  the  crop. 

Of  course  there  is  always  danger  of  loss  from  the  rav- 
ages of  insects  and  from  leaf  or  tuber  diseases;  but  it 
can  be  safely  asserted  that  these  dangers  are  not  as  great 
in  the  semi-arid  belt  as  in  other  parts  of  the  country  gen- 
erally. In  fact  the  better  preparation  of  the  soil  made 
necersary  here  and  the  perfect  cultivation  which  must 
be  followed  for  success,  practically  insures  against  loss 
from  any  of  these  various  causes. 

In  fact,  many  farmers  have  been  making  a  success 
with  potatoes  in  the  semi-arid  belt  for  a  number  of  years. 
The  writer  has  knowledge  of  instances  in  southern  Nebraska 


198 


CAMPBELLS    SOIL    (TLTURE    MANUAL 


where  in  the  spring,  of  1901  there  was  almost  entire  ab- 
sence of  rain,  yet  one  20-acre  field  averaged  100  bushels 
per  acre,  and  the  potatoes  were  sold  at  $1.00  a  bushel. 
This  was  with  cultivation  under  the  Campbell  method* 
while  all  around  the  potato  crop  was  a  total  failure.  There 


Cut  No.  20.     Root  Development  with  shallow  cultivation. 

is  really  no  reason  why  good  crops  of  potatoes  cannot  be 
grown  all  the  way  from  the  Texas  line  to  Canada,  with 
right  preparation  of  the  soil  and  care  in  cultivation  during 
the  growing  season. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  199 

PREPARING    THE   SOIL 

The  preparation  of  the  soil  is,  in  growing  potatoes  as 
in  almost  everything  else,  the  chief  matter  for  considera- 
tion. In  the  chapter  on  sub-surface  packing  will  be  found 
illustrations  of  the  different  ways  of  preparing  the  soil  for 
the  root  and  seed  bed,  from  which  the  reader  may  gain 
a  good  idea  of  what  is  meant.  While  we  have  said  much 
upon  the  importance  of  a  proper  condition  of  the  soil  when 
all  work  is  done,  we  must  almost  repeat  it  again,  because 
so  very  much  depends  upon  this  to  secure  fineness,  firm- 
ness and  moisture  in  the. soil  such  as  may  be  most  favor- 
able to  a  rapid  and  full  development  of  roots  such  as  will 
lead  them  to  permeate  every  part  or  portion  of  the  soil. 

In  the  ideal  root  and  seed  bed  as  shown  in  the  cut  the 
soil  was  plowed  eight  inches  deep,  after  having  been  thor- 
oughly disked  to  a  depth  of  fully  three  and  a-half  inches; 
the  disking  having  been  done  early  our  soil  was  moist  and 
was  in  the  best  possible  condition  to  plow;  as  the  furrow 
rolled  over  the  fine,  dry  top  soil  went  under,  the  moist  soil 
coming  to  the  surface  in  an  ideal  condition,  and  while 
moist  the  particles  seemed  to  readily  separate  one  from 
the  other  and  adjust  themselves  without  material  resist- 
ance to  the  desired  compactness,  as  the  packer  wheels 
rolled  over  the  plowed  ground,  which  was  done  quite  close 
to  the  plow. 

In  the  illustrations  given  we  have  been  able  to  show 
only  the  main  lateral  branches  of  the  roots.  The  little 
hair  roots  or  feeders  may  be  found  in  such  soil  running  in 
every  direction,  so  completely  filling  the  soil  as  to  draw 
moisture  and  plant  food  from  every  portion. 

In  the  cut  in  this  chapter,  where  the  soil  and  roots  are 
shown  highly  magnified,  is  something  that  will  bear  study 
by  every  farmer.  It  represents  at  the  right  a  section  of 


200 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


a  branch  root  showing  the  cell  formation;  from  these  outei 
cells  are  the  hair  roots  or  feeders  A  A,  running    through 


Cut  No.  21 .     Deep  Cultivation. 

among  the  particles  of  soil  represented  by  the  dark  spots; 
around  these  spots  are  lines  parallel  with  the  shape  of  the 
particle  of  soil  which  represent  the  film  or  covering  of 
water.  The  white  spots  represent  air  spaces.  Now,  if 
the  reader  will  look  at  this  cut  and  think  for  a  moment 
that  these  hair  roots  or  little  tubes  marked  A  A  in  their 
full  size  in  the  soil  are  barely  perceptible  to  the  naked  eye, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  201 

and  then  imagine  that  these  soil  grains  and  air  spaces  here 
shown  are  proportionately  smaller  in  their  teal  soil  con- 
dition, he  can  'gain  a  good  understanding  of  what  is  the 
ideal  condition  of  the  soil  to  which  he  has  been  laboring. 
If  you  are  after  a  sure  crop,  as  well  as  a  good  crop  of 
potatoes,  get  your  root  bed  as  near  this  condition  as  pos- 


Cut  No.  15.     Magnified  Roots  and  Soil. 

sible.  Having  previously  succeeded  in  storing  a  liberal 
amount  of  moisture  in  the  soil  below,  as  shown  in  cut  No. 
8,  you  can  plant  your  potatoes  knowing  you  have  done  all 
you  could  do  to  assure  success  so  far. 

SEED    AND    PLANTING 

The  planting  of  potatoes  can  be  done  at  the  time  of 
plowing  if  desired,  by  simply  dropping  the  potatoes  on  the 
side  of  the  furrows  about  three  inches  from  the  bottom, 
so  that  the  next  furrow  will  cover  them.  Better  results, 
perhaps,  will  come  from  more  complete  preparation  of  the 


202  CAMBPELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

ground,  as  for  any  other  crop,  then  planting  with  a  potato 
planter  about  four  inches  deep. 

As  to  variety  of  potatoes  it  is  well  known  that  there 
are  a  number  of  excellent  varieties,  and  one  farmer  may 
have  a  preference  for  one  while  another  farmer  is  sure  hit 
kind  is  the  best.  But  almost  any  of  the  standard  varietiet 
will  do.  In  selecting  a  new  variety  do  not  get  one  thas 
has  not  been  sufficiently  tested.  It  is  well  in  trying  ous 
new  varieties  to  begin  in  a  small  way  and  work  up  for  seed. 
The  Early  Ohio  is  an  old  standard  variety,  but  it  is  not  the 
only  good  one.  For  seed  we  prefer  large  potatoes,  cutting 
them  as  near  two  eyes  in  a  piece  as  convenient,  then  plant- 
ing one  piece  in  a  hill.  For  the  more  arid  portions  of  the 
semi-arid  belt  we  would  plant  the  rows  about  three  feet 
ten  inches  apart  and  drop  the  seed,  cut  as  above,  about 
twenty  inches  apart.  In  the  lower  altitudes,  or  where 
there  is  a  greater  rainfall,  plant  somewhat  closer.  Remem- 
ber, the  one  great  point  is  to  never  let  your  potato  plant 
lack  for  water.  If  you  do  your  crop  suffers.  Small  and 
knotty  potatoes  are  the  result  of  the  potato  plant  getting 
short  of  water  at  certain  times,  which  tends  to  force  the 
ripening  or  maturing  period.  Then  a  sudden  and  heavy 
rainfall  or  the  irrigation  of  the  potatoes  after  this  condi- 
tion forces  a  new  and  rapid  growth  which  results  in  setting 
a  second  lot  of  potatoes,  some  of  which  may  appear  on 
the  roots  and  others  on  the  sides  of  the  already  formed 
potato. 

CULTIVATION 

Care  should  be  taken  in  cultivation  of  the  potato  not 
to  destroy  the  roots.  The  potato  is  prolific  of  roots,  and 
these  reach  out  into  every  part  of  the  soil  between  the 
rows.  Too  deep  cultivation  will  destroy  many  of  these 
roots,  especially  after  the  plants  have  grown  to  a  consid- 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  203 

erable  size,  while  shallower  cultivation  encourages  the  plant 
to  send  out  its  roots  laterally  so  that  the  value  of  late 
rains  may  be  realized  most  quickly.  There  is  no  better 
tool  in  the  early  cultivation  than  the  harrow  or  weeder,  if 
you  will  use  it  freely  and  with  some  judgment.  The  long 
toothed  weeder  may  be  used  from  the  time  the  crop  is 
planted  until  the  tops  are  too  large  to  draw  between  the 
teeth,  providing  you  catch  the  soil  in  just  the  proper  con- 
dition, especially  in  the  average  sand  loam  soils.  Should 
you  get  a  very  heavy  rain  that  may  result  in  packing  the 
surface  to  a  considerable  depth,  then  it  will  be  necessary 
to  cultivate  with  some  fine  tooth  cultivator,  as  in  cultiva- 
ting corn,  but  in  such  case  it  is  well  to  follow  the  cultivator 
closely  by  crossing  the  fows  with  the  weeder.  This  more 
completely  fines  the  mulch  as  well  as  levels  it,  also  loosens 
the  soil  among  the  vines,  and  cleans  the  young  weeds. 
Watch  closely  the  condition,  however,  and  be  sure  to  keep 
the  soil  stirred  deep  enough,  even  if  it  is  necessary  to  use 
the  cultivator;  a  mulch  of  fine,  loose  soil  of  fully  two  and 
a-half  inches  in  depth  should  be  kept  as  soon  as  the  potato 
tops  get  to  any  size,  and  the  soil  should  be  stirred  often 
enough  to  keep  the  top  of  the  firm  soil  beneath  the  mulch 
in  a  moist  condition.  This  condition  can  be  kept  if  you 
have  moisture  stored  below,  and  do  not  plant  too  thick 
and  watch  your  time  of  cultivation.  Upon  the  care  and 
attention  given  over  to  this  part  of  the  work  depends  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  the  crop.  Don't  stop  cultivation 
wheri  they  are  in  blossom,  but  don't  destroy  the  roots. 

If  you  want  to  raise  a  prize  crop  put  them  on  a  piece 
of  summer  tilled  ground,  plowing  again  in  the  spring  fully 
eight  inches  and  handle  as  suggested. 


204  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAT 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


TREES  ON  THE  FARM. 

Plant  trees!  It  is  old  advice,  and  ever  good.  It  was 
the  best  possible  advice  for  the  pioneers  of  New  England 
when  they  planned  their  farm  homes;  it  was  still  better 
for  those  who  went  into  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi and  converted  the  prairies  into  gardens.  And 
so  it  is  the  best  advice  to  be  given  those  who  are  making 
homes  on  the  great  semi-arid  plains  o/  the  west.  Wherever 
the  trees  will  grow  and  flourish  there  can  be  agricultural 
pursuits ;  and  trees  can  be  grown  anywhere  in*  the  semi- 
arid  country. 

Shade  trees  and  for  shelter  and  ornament  ought  to  be 
on  every  farm  of  this  region.  We  have  abundantly  dem- 
onstrated, and  can  furnish  the  evidence  that  will  convince 
the  most  skeptical  that  fine  trees  for  this  purpose  can  be 
grown  in  five  years  in  regions  regarded  generally  as  the 
most  unfavorable  for  tree  planting.  And  what  is  there 
that  can  add  more  to  making  farm  life  pleasant  and  sat- 
isfactory than  a  lot  of  shade  trees  surrounding  the  farm 
house,  so  that  at  the  noon  hour  or  in  idle  moments  the 
farmer  may  rest  out  in  the  open  air  in  the  shade  of  a  fine, 
tree.  Those  who  have  first  looked  upon  the  barren  plains 
of  the  west  have  regarded  this  as  only  a  dream;  but  the 
dream  is  a  reality  on  hundreds  of  farms. 

Then  as  to  trees  for  fruit,  and  with  these  the  small 
shrubbery  of  the  garden  for  small  fruits  of  various  kinds, 
and  the  vines.  Good  orchards  are  being  grown  in  the  semi- 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  205 

arid  region  under  the  system  of  scientific  soil  culture  as 
we  have  demonstrated.  The  problem  is  a  little  different 
from  that  of  orcharding  in  the  older  states  and  where 
there  is  moisture  to  waste,  but  intelligent  application  of 
the  principles  which  are  necessarily  followed  in  farming 
under  semi-arid  conditions,  will  inevitably  point  the  way 
to  success  in  the  growing  of  orchards. 

Trees  for  fruit  and  ornament  and  for  the  wood,  havo 
transformed  the  praries  of  Iowa,  Illinois,  Minnesota,  Mis- 
souri and  eastern  Kansas,  Nebraska  and  the  Dakotas, 
until  the  very  face  of  nature  seems  different.  What  has 
been  done  here  can  and  will  be  done  further  west  where  it 
is  commonly  supposed  conditions  are  not  so  favorable.  It 
will  be  shown  that  conditions  are  favorable,  if  only  we 
know  how  to  take  advantage  of  these  conditions. 

The  traveler  who  journeys  over  the  region  along  the 
eastern  line  of  Colorado  and  further  west  and  who  is  able 
to  compare  the  appearance  of  the  country  with  what  it 
was  only  a  few  years  ago,  must  be  struck  with  the  change 
which  is  taking  place  already,  and  if  he  understands  what 
is  possible  he  can  easily  picture  the  still  further  improve- 
ment possible  in  a  few  years.  No  farmer  living  in  this 
region  who  possesses  any  enterprise  or  any  pride  in  his 
surroundings  but  has  now  a  fine  grove  or  orchard,  or  both, 
and  trees  healthy  and  beautiful. 

PRACTICAL    WORK 

The  test  of  tree  growing  is  found  in  practical  expe- 
rience. Some  remarkable  results  have  been  attained  and 
these  are  well  worthy  of  consideration  by  everyone  at  all 
interested  in  the  subject.  An  experience  at  the  Pomeroy- 
model  farm  near  Hill  City,  Kansas,  covering  a  period  of 
five  years  or  more  will  illustrate  well  what  can  be  done. 
The  land  selected  for  the  buildings  around  which  a  large 


206  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

number  of  shade  and  ornamental  trees  were  set,  and  for 
the  orchard,  is  on  a  high  divide  overlooking  the  town,  with 
quite  a  considerable  south  slope. 

The  south  slope  is  much  more  unfavorable  than  the 
north,  as  it  gets  the  rays  of  the  sun  more  directly  and  catches 
the  force  of  the  south  winds  during  the  extreme  heated 
portion  of  the  season;  but  this  south  slope  was  purposely 
selected  that  visitors  might  see  that  what  could  be  done 
under  such  conditions  might  be  done  at  any  point.  For 
the  most  successful  growing  of  trees  or  orchard  a  northeast 
slope  should  be  selected  as  most  favorable. 

The  ground  for  our,  trees  was  first  double-disked  early 
in  March,  1900,  plowed  in  April  about  eight  inches  deep, 
the  plow  followed  by  the  sub-surface  packer,  and  the 
packer  with  a  good  harrow.  The  ground  was  then  laid 
out  by  using  the  check  chain  of  a  corn  planter.  A  small 
stake  was  set  for  each  tree  or  shrub,  and  nine  hundred  and 
sixty-four  of  these  stakes  were  thus  set. 

When  the  trees  were  received  from  the  nursery  a  deep 
trench  was  dug  and  all  trees  heeled  in  with  tops  pointing 
north.  Care  was  taken  to  keep  the  roots  from  the  air,  and 
what  is  most  important,  to  keep  them  moist.  When  taken 
from  the  boxes  they  were  quickly  covered  with  dirt,  and 
water  turned  on.  A  kerosene  barrel  was  sawed  in  two 
parts,  each  half  barrel  was  filled  about  two  thirds  full  of 
water,  and  sufficient  dirt  was  added  to  form  a  thin  solution 
of  mud.  when  the  trees  were  taken  from  the  trench 
when  the  workmen  were  ready  to  engage  in  the  actual 
work  of  setting  the  trees,  and  put  into  this  solution  one 
by  one,  and  enough  mud  adhered  to  the  roots  to  keep  them 
protected  from  the  air  and  sun  while  being  handled  during 
the  process  of  setting, 


CAMPBELL'S  SBIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


207 


SETTING    THE    TREES 

In  setting  the  trees  in  the  orchard  two  boards  four  feet 
long  by  six  inches  wide  were  provided  with  a  notch  in  the 


Peach  tree,  5  months  after  setting,  Pomeroy  farm. 

center  and  a  notch  at  each  end,  both  boards  being  cut 
exactly  alike.     The  man  who  dug  the  holes  used  one  of  the 


208  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

boards,  and  placing  the  center  notch  on  the  stake  pulled 
the  stake  out  and  set  it  in  one  of  the  end  notches  and  added 
another  stake  in  the  other  end  notch.  He  then  removed 
the  board  and  dug  the  hole. 

In  digging  the  hole  the  tree  was  examined  to  note  the 
size  and  shape  of  root  and  hole  dug  sufficiently  large  to 
allow  spreading  all  the  roots  out  their  full  length  and  no 
more.  The  man  who  directed  the  tree  setting  carried  the 
second  notched  board  and  after  the  hole  was  completed 
he  placed  the  board  on  the  two  stakes,  and  dropping  his 
tree  into  the  hole  brought  the  body  to  the  middle  notch, 
thus  holding  it  exactly  where  the  original  stake  had  been 
set, 

In  setting  a  tree  a  helper  using  a  hoe  pulverized  the 
dirt  that  was  still  fresh  and  moist,  hauling  it  to  the  roots 
as  fast  as  a  man  could  place  it  in  with  his  hands  and  by 
the  aid  of  a  trowel.  Great  care  was  taken  to  work  the 
soil  in  about  roots.  When  sufficient  dirt  was  in  to  cover 
the  roots  a  quart  of  water  was  turned  in.  By  vibrating 
the  tree  slightly  the  water  soon  percolated  through  the 
moist  soil,  dissolving  the  particles  and  settling  them  closely 
around  the  roots.  The  holes  were  then  filled  within  two 
inches  of  the  top,  and  then  tramped  firmly.  Then  about 
three  inches  of  loose  dirt  was  scattered  over  this  packed 
soil,  and  the  tree  left. 

This  plan  was  so  successful  that  in  the  spring  of  1901 
we  were  obliged  to  reset  only  seventeen  trees,  less  than 
two  per  cent,  the  trees  all  having  made  a  very  fair  growth 
the  first  year.  The  expense  of  caring  for  these  trees  in 
1900  outside  of  the  trimming,  but  including  all  other  work 
and  cultivation,  amounted  to  $22.00,  or  about  $2.25  an 
acre. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  2UO 

CARE    OF    SURFACE 

The  plan  of  operation  was  immediately  after  setting 
the.  trees  to  double-disk  the  entire  surface,  because  the 
hauling  of  the  wagons  and  the  tramping  of  the  men  over 
the  moist  soil  while  setting  the  trees  resulted  in  packing 
the  ground  considerably.  A  two-horse  disk  was  used  for 
this  work,  which  enabled  us  to  get  very  close  to  the  tree. 
As  soon  as  a  rain  of  any  magnitude  had  fallen,  the  ground 
was  gone  over  with  the  pulverizing  harrow,  crossing  the 
work  done  with  the  disk.  This  harrow  is  a  tool  pretty 
generally  known,  and  a  most  valuable  instrument  for  this 
class  of  work.  No  weeds  were  allowed  to  grow.  About 
two  and  a-half  inches  of  the  surface  was  kept  constantly 
loose  and  fine  by  the  use  of  the  harrow  until  July,  when  a 
second  double-disking  was  applied.  The  object,  of  this 
occasional  disking  was  to  cut  deeper  to  prevent  even  the 
slightest  degree  of  crusting  beneath,  the  mulch.  Then  the 
harrow  was  used,  going  at  right  angles  each  time  with  the 
previous  cultivation  until  September  1st. 

LATE    CULTIVATION 

Up  to  this  time  we  had  been  inclined  to  follow  the  ideas 
of  most  orchard  and  tree  men  and  horticulturists,  which 
was  to  discontinue  cultivation  after  August,  the  object 
being  to  check  the  growth  of  the  tree  and  allow  the  new 
wood  to  mature  before  freezing  time.  This  idea  presum- 
ably is  correct  in  the  more  humid  portions  of  our  country. 
But  in  the  semi-arid  section  we  are  inclined  to  discredit 
this  theory  in  its  full  extent,  especially  where  the  rainfall 
is  below  fifteen  inches.  We  believe  the  cultivation  should 
be  continued,  but  less  frequent.  We  must  not  lose  too 
much  of  the  moisture  from  around  the  main  roots  and 
their  branches,  if  we  would  carry  our  trees  safely  through 


210 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


the  winter.  This  question  is  a  nice  one  and  must  be 
treated  with  care.  It  is  proper  to  reduce  the  sap  in  the 
body  and  limbs  slightly,  but  there  is  danger  in  going  into 
the  winter  with  soil  too  dry  about  the  roots.  Much  atten- 


Peach  tree,  Pomeroy  farm,  17  months  after  setting. 


211 

tion  has  been  given  to  this  point  by  most  of  our  agricultu- 
ral colleges  the  past  four  or  five  years. 

From  Bulletin  No.  52,  issued  by  the  University  of 
Illinois  in  1898,  we  take  the  following.  We  quote  it  espec- 
ially because  it  corresponds  to  our  own  experience  and  is 
the  result  of  several  years  of  observation: 

"  Throughout  large  sections  of  Illinois  may  be  found  the 
rotting  remnants  of  once  extensive  orchards,  representing 
large  original  expenditures  of  both  labor  and  money.  The 
frequency  with  which  such  localities  are  met  would  almost 
seem  to  justify  the  statement  usually  heard  in  the  neigh- 
borhood where  such  worn  out  orchards  are  found  that 
the  soil  is  not  fitted  for  the  growing  of  fruit.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  enormous  apple  and  other  fruit  production  in 
other  parts  of  the  state,  and  frequently  in  localities  not  far 
distant  from  those  mentioned,  makes  it  evident  that  the 
reason  so  often  assigned  cannot  be  the  correct  one. 

CAUSES    OF    FAILURE. 

"On  examination  and  inquiry  it  will  be  found  to  be 
almost  invariably  the  case  that  the  true  cause  for  the 
failure  or  the  dying  out  of  an  orchard  is  the  lack  of  profi- 
cient, or  the  entire  absence  of  proper  cultivation  and  care. 
While  the  Illinois  agriculturist  has  been  devoting  his  time 
and  attention  to  the  care  of  his  field  and  garden  crop,  -it 
is  too  often  the  case  that  the  orchard  has  been  left  to  care 
for  itself,  with  the  above  mentioned  result.  The  com- 
monest cause  of  failure  in  orchards  in  Illinois  may  be 
traced  direct  to  the  ill  effects  of  summer  drouths,  though 
perhaps  it  is  more  commonly  referred  to  as  freezing  in 
winter.  The  connection  really  existing  between  these  two 
destructive  agencies  has  not  been  often  recognized.  The 
fact  that  certain  varieties  of  apples  usually  accounted 


212  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

hardy  even  to  our  most  northern  limits,  and  in  exposed 
situations  sometimes  fail  after  a  winter  not  noted  for 
severity,  has  at  different  times  attracted  attention,  but 
the  significance  of  such  failures  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
duly  appreciated.  On  consulting  the  records  it  is  found 
that  orchard  injuries  and  exceptionally  severe  winters  do 
not  coincide.  The  autumnal  conditions  of  the  trees  clearly 
has  to  do  with  the  results,  and  this  again  depends  upon 
the  developments  of  the  growing  trees.  One  of  the  worst 
things  that  can  happen  to  trees  is  the  failure  of  a  sufficient 
supply  of  soil  moisture.  A  continuous  supply  of  water 
is  essential  to  all  the  vital  processes  of  vegetation.  Apple 
trees  severely  suffer  when  not  so  supplied/' 

The  bulletin  continues  at  considerable  length  along  this 
line,  and  then  presents  two  very  striking  cuts  on  pages 
126  and  127,  one  showing  the  orchard  upon  the  college 
farm  with  trees  hanging  full  of  fruit,  the  other  of  an  ad- 
joining farm  with  neglected  trees  uncultivated,  bare  of 
fruit  and  almost  minus  of  foliage,  and  the  bulletin  concludes 
by  referring  to  the  cuts  in  the  following  manner: 

"The  photographs  were  taken  in  September,  1897.  The 
tree  in  the  foreground  of  the  college  orchard,  with  its 
wealth  of  foliage  and  bending  under  the  weight  of  its  load 
of  fruit,  tells  its  own  story,  and  stands  forth  in  marked 
contrast  to  the  preceding  picture,  which  is  bare  of  fruit 
and  almost  minus  of  foliage.  From  the  contrast  there  can 
be  but  one  conclusion  drawn,  that  while  other  things  have 
greater  or  less  effect  upon  an  orchard's  health  and  condi- 
tion, the  prime  requisite  to  successful  orcharding  in  Illi- 
nois is  thorough  and  systematic  cultivation." 

While  the  principles  involved  in  the  Illinois  bulletin 
are  important  and  valuable  in  that  state,  they  are  vital 
with  us  in  the  semi-arid  section.  The  prevailing  idea, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  213 

and  the  idea  usually-  drawn  from  most  of  our  articles,  is 
that  the  work  is  too  expensive  to  make  orchard  growing 
profitable  in  the  more  arid  portions  of  this  country.  This 
is  quite  an  error,  fully  demonstrated  by  the  figures  given 
of  our  own  work  in  the  orchard  of  the  Pomeroy  model 
farm  in  1900. 

EXPERIENCE    IN    KANSAS. 

In  this  chapter  is  shown  an  illustration  of  a  peach  tree 
grown  on  the  Pomeroy  model  farm  in  Kansas,  from  a 
photograph  taken  in  the  fall  after  the  first  season's  growth. 
The  tree  had  then  been  in  the  ground  five  months.  The 
trees  in  this  orchard  were  all  cut  back  to  about  three  feet 
when  they  were  set,  and  all  limbs  cut  back  so  as  to  leave 
but  two  buds  to  the  limb.  The  second  season's  growth 
is  shown  in  the  illustration  where  a  growth  of  seventeen 
months  indicates  a  remarkable  result.  This  photograph 
was  taken  August  23,  1901.  The  contrast  in  growth  as 
shown  in  these  two  illustrations  ought  to  be  sufficient 
proof  of  what  can  be  done  in  trees  growing  where  the 
preparation  of  the  soil  has  been  right.  It  shows  that 
without  irrigation  orchards  may  be  grown  in  the  most 
arid  portions  of  the  states  of  Colorado,  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska. The  body  of  the  tree  shown  as  of  first  season's 
growth,  measured  a  little  over  an  inch  in  diameter,  while 
the  body  of  the  tree  after  17  months'  growth  measured 
two  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter.  As  the  man  standing 
by  the  tree  measured  six  feet  three  inches,  to  the  top  of 
his  hat,  the  reader  may  get  some  idea  of  the  remarkable 
growth  of  these  trees.  There  is  no  reason  why  they  should 
not  have  made  this  remarkable  growth,  for,  although  we 
experienced  a  continuous  dry  period,  with  the  excessive 
heat  of  one  hundred  degrees  and  above  for  forty-three 
days,  from  June  18  to  August  1,  entirely  without  rain; 


214  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

yet  during  that  entire  time  the  ground  was  amply  moist 
to  make  into  balls  about  the  roots  of  the  trees,  and  to  a 
depth  of  over  ten  feet.  During  this  entire  time,  owing  to 
the  manner  of  cultivation  and  the  care  taken  to»save  this 
moisture,  this  soil  was  practically  as  full  of  moisture  about 
the  roots  of  the  trees  as  it  could  hold,  and  had  there  been 
previous  irrigation  from  a  ditch  the  soil  could  not  have 
been  more  moist. 

SHADE    TREE    EESULTS 

The  illustration  of  a  white  elm  tree  on  the  Pomeroy 
model  farm  seventeen  months  after  setting  again  shows 
what  can  be  done  on  ground  properly  prepared  and  with 
right  treatment  of  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Looking  closely 
you  can  see  the  man's  hand  about  four  feet  from  the 
ground,  grasping  the  pole  which  is  ten  feet  high.  At  this 
point  where  the  hand  shows,  the  tree  was  cut  off  when  set 
in  the  spring  of  1900.  The  growth  during  1900  was  not 
much,  though  quite  as  much  as  might  be  expected  the 
fierst  year,  the  new  limbs  averaging  about  ten  inches.  This 
photograph  was  taken  August  23,  1901,  when  the  tree 
reached  within  eight  inches  of  the  top  of  the  ten-foot  pole. 
Elms  are  usually  considered  slow  growth.  This  illustra- 
tion is  certainly  a  demonstration  of  two  facts,  that  they 
will  make  remarkable  growth  with  plenty  of  moisture,  and 
that  moisture  can  be  stored  in  sufficient  quantities  on  the 
far  western  prairies  to  supply  all  necessary  needs  of  such 
trees. 

In  the  setting  of  trees  or  orchards  in  the  more  arid 
portions  of  this  belt,  care  should  be  taken  to  not  get  them 
too  close  together.  A  successful  growing  of  a  tree  depends 
upon  ample  pasturage  of  the  roots.  In  our  orchard  at 
the  Model  farm  we  set  our  cherries  and  peach  trees  twenty- 
two  feet  each  way,  and  our  apples  twenty-two  by  thirty- 


CAMPBELL  S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL 


215, 


two  feet.  No  crop  of  any  kind  or  nature  should  be  grown 
in  an  orchard  if  you  would  secure  the  best  results.  It  may 
seem  like  a  waste  of  ground  to  see  little  two-year-old 
trees  standing  two  and  a-half  to  three  feet  high  with  tops 
only  one  foot  to  eighteen  inches  broad,  twenty-two  feet 


White  Elm  tree,  Pomeroy  farm,  17  months  after  planting. 


216  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

apart  each  way;  but  when  we  note  the  immense  growth  of 
our  trees  the  second  year  we  see  it  is  not  long  before  the 
entire  space  is  utilized.  Back  of  the  house  where  we  lived 
in  Holdrege,  Nebraska,  is  a  cherry  tree  that  now  measures 
seventeen  and  a-half  feet  across  from  tip  to  tip  of  limbs. 
You  can  readily  see  that  in  the  twenty-two-foot  distances 
we  only  have  four  and  a-half  feet  left.  Now,  if  vou  expect 
the  trees  to  make  this  growth,  you  must  not  interfere  with 
the  roots  of  the  tree,  or  in  any  way  rob  it  of  any  of  the 
moisture  or  plant  food  in  the  soil.  Besides,  to  plant  a  crop 
of  any  kind  would  make  the  cultivation  much  more  incon- 
venient and  expensive.  A  trip  back  to  the  old  Eastern 
States,  even  in  Illinois,  and  then  on  through  Ohio  and  New 
York  State,  will  disclose  a  radical  change  in  methods  of 
handling  orchards.  The  most  profitable  orchards  in  those 
states,  today,  have  no  crops  or  grass  growing  in  them; 
while  twenty  years  ago  it  was  a  common  practice  to  seed 
them  down  to  grasses.  If  that  kind  of  treatment  is  desir- 
able and  profitable  in  the  east  where  the  rainfall  is  more 
than  abundant;  it  is  much  more  desirable  in  the  west. 

We  can  now  cite  many  instances  of  successful  tree  and 
orchard  growing  in  western  Kansas  and  Nebraska  and 
eastern  Colorado,  but  space  will  not  permit.  For  further 
evidence  of  the  importance  of  frequent  cultivation  of 
trees  read  the  chapter  on  soil  culture,  and  for  more  em- 
phatic evidence  of  the  marvelous  growth  that  can  be  at- 
tained by  proper  cultivation  of  both  fruit  and  forest  trees, 
visit  the  Pomeroy  model  farm  in  midsummer  and  behold 
the  lofty  and  beautiful  shade  trees  growing  there. 

The  truth  is  that  all  over  the  semi-arid  region  in  the 
past  five  to  ten  years  there  has  been  wonderful  develop- 
ment in  the  growing  of  trees  and  the  care  of  orchards  and 
groves.  Everywhere  the  fact  is  coming  to  be  recognized 


217 

that  tree  growing  is  just  like  the  growing  of  other  things, 
that  it  all  depends  on  the  care  and  preparation  of  the 
soil  and  intelligent  application  of  the  principles  of  scien- 
tific soil  culture.  The  present  error  is  the  inclination  to 
be  satisfied  with  a  fair  ordinary  growth.  Don't  do  that. 
Get  all  nature  can  give  up  to  you. 


It  is  useless  to  apply  commercial  fertilizers  to  lands 
which  are  not  in  proper  physical  condition  for  the  very 
best  growth  of  crops. — Prof.  L.  H.  Bailey, 


We  find  by  the  Campbell  system  that  we  can  as  well 
keep  moisture  in  the  ground  as  to  put  it  in  a  jug  and  put 
in  the  cork. — J.  B.  Beal,  Chief  Land  Examiner  Union  Pacific 
Railroad. 


Nitrogen  Supply. — Considering  all  these  facts  and  the 
additional  facts  that  there  are  about  seventy-five  million 
pounds  of  atmospheric  nitrogen  resting  upon  every  acre  of 
land,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  unlimited  quanti- 
ties of  nitrogen  from  the  air  for  the  use  of  farm  crops,  and 
at  very  small  cost,  the  inevitable  conclusion  is  that  the  in- 
exhaustible supply  of  nitrogen  in  the  air  is  the  store  from 
which  we  must  draw  to  maintain  a  sufficient  amount  of 
this  element  in  the  soil  for  the  most  profitable  crop  yields. 
-Prof.  Cyril  G.  Hopkins. 


218 


CAMPBELL  S    SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


SUGAR  BEET  GROWING. 

All  honor  to  those  who  have  been  doing  much  in  recent 
years  to  develop  in  the  semi-arid  belt  as  well  as  elsewhere 
in  the  states  the  new  industry  of  making  sugar  from  beets. 
Nearly  everyone  is  aware  of  the  fact  that  there  is  now 
manufactured  in  this  country  a  great  deal  of  sugar  from 
beets;  but  few  realize  the  enormous  quantities  of  sugar 
made  each  and  every  year  west  of  the  Mississippi  river. 
The  consumption  of  sugar  is  increasing  rapidly,  and  the 


Thinning  Sugar  Beets. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  219 

demand  is  almost  keeping  pace  with  the  supply,  so  that 
the  possibilities  of  the  business  are  infinite.  Sugar  fac- 
tories are  dotting  the  states  of  the  west.  Many  more  are 
coming.  And  it  is  no  longer  true  that  the  sugar  beet 
factory  must  be  supplied  from  roots  grown  near  by,  for  it 
is  found  profitable  to  ship  long  distances  to  factories. 

The  possibilities  of  beet  sugar  production  in  the  west 
are  beyond  estimate,  and  not  only  by  irrigation  but  with- 


40  acre  Sugar  Beet  field  at  Holly,  Colorado. 

out  irrigation  many  fields  are  being  developed.  In  this 
article  is  an  illustration  of  a  field  of  sugar  beets  grown  at 
Lisbon,  N.  D.,  on  the  grounds  of  the  soldier's  home  by  Col. 
Mcllvaine,  in  1897,  the  second  year's  experiment  on  the 
same  ground.  It  was  grown  under  the  Campbell  method 
o£  soil  culture  and  the  yield  showed  the  phenomenal  re- 
turns of  46,000  pounds,  or  23  tons,  per  acre.  The  illus- 


220  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

tration  shows  the  wonderful  growth.  Aside  from  the 
value  which  can  be  got  from  the  beets  for  sugar  there  is 
also  the  great  value  to  be  got  from  the  feeding  of  the  pulp. 
Experiments  thus  far  show  that  this  value  is  considerable, 
and  later  experiments  may  add  much  to  our  knowledge  of 
how  to  utilize  it.  At  any  rate  it  is  certain  that  sugar  beet 
growing  will  be  one  of  the  great  industries  of  the  semi- 
arid  west  for  the  next  century, 

SUGAR  BEET  CULTURE    UNDER  IRRIGATION. 

The  following  is  a  conicse  statement  of  the  best  methods 
used  in  the  successful  raising  of  sugar  beets  under  irrigation. 

Soil — Always  select  your  best  land.  Avoid  using  poor 
land  for  growing  beets.  Also  new  ground  should  not  be 
selected  as  a  good  tonnage  is  rare  under  these  conditions. 
The  ground  should  have  been  at  least  two  years  under 
cultivation  and  if  possible  manured  to  some  extent  in  the 
fall.  Stable  manure  is  highly  recommended  as  it  will  very 
materially  increase  the  tonnage.  Never  plant  seed  on 
land  that  is  sandy  enough  to  blow. 

Plowing— As  the  sugar  beet  plant  derives  its  life  from  the 
soil,  deep  plowing  is  urged  as  it  gives  the  root  plenty  of  room 
to  grow  down  and  absorb  nutriment.  If  possible  in  all  cases 
the  plowing  should  be  done  in  the  fall  and  the  land  allowed 
to  remain  rough  all  winter,  airing  the  land  thoroughly  and 
letting  in  the  moisture.  It  also  permits  the  land  to  slowly 
settle  and  pack  which  will  insure  better  germination. 

Levelling — To  facilitate  the  thorough  irrigation  of  a 
field,  it  is  essential  that  the  ground  should  be  levelled  as 
well  as  possible  so  as  to  leave  no  low  spots  where  water  will 
stand.  To  obtain  the  best  and  quickest  results,  it  is  wejl 
to  use  a  harrow  and  loosen  the  top  soil,  after  which  a  floater 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


221 


may  be  used  to  drag  the  soil  from  the  high  knowls  into  the 
hollows. 

Seed  Bed — Probably  the  most  important  thing  neces- 
sary to  be  done  to  insure  a  good  beet  crop,  is  the  prepar- 
ation of  the  seed  bed.  After  the  land  has  been  plowed  and 
eveled  as  explained  above,  the  seed  bed  may  be  made  by 


A  MODERN  FACTORY. 

Factory  for  making  Beet  Sugar  at  Holly,  Col.     Completed  in  1905, 

most  modern  construction.     Owned  by  the  Holly 

Sugar  Company. 

working  the  soil  down  to  a  depth  of  four  or  five  inches  and 
then  packing  it  well  with  the  use  of  a  heavy  roller,  thus  in- 
suring the  capillary  attraction  for  the  moisture  which  will 
germinate  the  seed.  Be  sure  that  all  the  weeds  are  killed 
before  planting  the  beet  seed,  otherwise,  unnecessary  ex- 


222  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

pense  will  be  entailed  aside  from  the  danger  to  the  crop. 
The  seed  bed  should  only  be  made  when  the  land  is  moist 
and  in  order  that  the  land  may  not  dry  before  seeding,  no 
more  land  should  be  prepared  than  can  be  seeded  each  day. 

Seeding — In  order  to  secure  a  good  yield,  a  good  stand 
is  necessary.  To  do  this  not  less  than  twenty  pounds  of 
seed  to  the  acre  should  be  planted.  The  time  of  planting 
varies  a  little  with  the  season,  but  April  and  May  are  the 
usual  planting  months.  Beet  drills  built  expressly  for  the 
irrigated  country  may  be  secured  to  do  this  seeding. 

Cultivation — Cultivation  answers  two  very  important 
purposes,  the  loosening  of  the  crust  after  irrigation  or  rain, 
and  the  preservation  of  the  moisture  in  the  ground.  Special 
one  horse  cultivators  are  used  for  cultivating  beet  fields. 
A  field  should  always  be  cultivated  as  soon  after  an  irri- 
gation or  rain  as  possible  in  order  to  break  the  crust  which 
has  formed  and  allow  the  plant  to  grow  and  breathe,  and 
at  the  same  time  it  serves  to  kill  the  young  weeds  as  they 
come  up  between  the  rows. 

Thinning — Thinning  of  the  beets  takes  place  usually 
about  four  weeks  after  seeding,  when  the  young  plant 
shows  four  well  developed  leaves  above  the  ground.  In 
thinning  great  care  should  be  exercised  in  the  proper 
spacing  and  also  the  selection  of  the  hardiest  plant  to  be 
left  in  the  ground;  also  to  see  that  the  plants  that  are  left 
are  disturbed  as  little  as  possible.  Thinning  done  at  the 
right  time  means  a  great  deal  towards  securing  a  heavy 
tonnage  and  sweet  beets. 

Hoeing— In  case  the  ground  is  very  foul  part  of  the 
field,  if  not  all,  may  have  to  be  hoed  before  cultivation 
takes  place.  This  hoeing  should  be  done  carefully  so  as 
not  to  disturb  the  young  beet  plant. 


CAMPBELL  S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL 


223 


Irrigation — It  is  much  better  for  beet  land  if  it  can  be 
irrigated  in  winter  before  seeding  takes  place.  Irrigation 
should  be  delayed  as  long  as  possible  after  thinning,  and 


Sugar  beets,  23  tons  per  acre,  by  Campbell  method. 

flooding  at  all  times  should  be  avoided.  The  best  way  to 
irrigate  is  to  run  the  water  down  the  furrows  between  the 
beets  which  irrigates  the  roots  without  touching  the  leaves 
of  the  plant,  as  when  the  plant  is  young  it  is  detrimental  to 
have  the  leaves  wet  with  irrigation. 

Harvesting — Whenever   the    beets   are   ripe,    which   is 


224 

determined  by  analysis  by  the  factories,  the  beets  are 
plowed  up  with  special  plows,  topped  with  a  large  corn 
kniie  at  the  base  of  the  bottom  leaf  and  delivered  by  wagon 
or  train  to  the  factory. 

Siloing — As  all  the  beets  cannot  be  delivered  to  the 
factory  before  heavy  freezing  weather  sets  in,  it  is  necessary 
to  place  the  undelivered  beets,  after  being  harvested,  into 
siloes.  The  siloing  of  beets  is  done  by  placing  leaves  and 
dirt  over  the  beets,  leaving  a  small  hole  at  the  top  to  pre- 
vent the  beets  from  sweating.  Usually  not  more  than  two 
to  three  tons  of  beets  are  placed  in  one  silo.  Great  care 
should  be  exercised  to  see  that  not  too  much  dirt  is  placed 
over  the  beets  until  the  weather  has  turned  exceedingly 
cold. 

SUGER   BEET  CULTURE    WITHOUT   IRRIGATION. 

The  growing  of  sugar  beets  in  the  semi-arid  section 
without  irrigation  can  be  conducted  by  following  prac- 
tically the  same  instructions  embodied  under  the  heading 
ofc  'Beet  Culture  by  Irrigation, "  except  instead  of  irrigating, 
giv'e  a  season  to  summer  culture,  storing  carefully  the 
season's  rain-fall,  following  carefully  the  general  instruction 
under  summer  culture.  Plowing,  however  should  be 
eight  or  nine  inches  deep,  follow  with  the  packer  well 
weighted,  then  work  the  surface  with  the  common  harrow 
aiming  to  reach  the  condition  shown  in  Cut  No.  4.  Balance 
of  the  work  should  be  practically  along  the  same  lines  as 
suggested  under  irrigation. 

In  cultivating  such  fields  great  care  should  be  given, 
not  only  to  cultivate  soon  after  rains,  but  watch  the  surface 
of  the  hard  soil  under  the  mulch  and  just  as  soon  as  it 
shows  dryness  it  should  be  cultivated  again  to  prevent  a 
crust  from  forming  under  the  mulch,  which  it  is  liable  to 


AMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  225 

do  in  prolonged  dry  periods.  Some  very  marked  results 
have  been  accomplished  by  this  method,  while  the  tonnage 
is  not  quite  equal  to  that  from  scientific  irrigation,  yet  the 
yields  of  sugar  is  much  better.  The  growing  of  sugar 
beets  without  irrigation  in  sections  where  the  sugar  beets 
can  be  easily  marketed,  will,  in  the  near  future,  be  very 
commonly  practised. 


The  Pomeroy  farm  certainly  proves  the  truth  of  Mr. 
Campbell's  theories,  or  else  he  is  a  wizard. — Wm.  E.  Curtis. 


Your  great  work  in  soil  culture  is  thoroughly  appreciated 
by  every  thinking  citizen  of  Nebraska. — The  late  J.  Sterling 
Morton. 


The  Campbell  system  is  a  glorious  success.  It  is  not  a 
mere  wet  season  humbug,  destined  to  collapse  with  the 
next  series  of  dry  years.  I  have  doubted,  watched,  investi- 
gated constantly  for  nine  months,  and  have  become  con- 
vinced that  it  is  the  greatest  agricultural  discovery  of  re- 
cent history. — John  E.  Leet,  in  Denver  Republican. 


226  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULIURL 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ALFALFA. 

In  1895  alfalfa  was  little  known  in  the  United  States 
except  in  remote  localities.  A  few  had  begun  to  realize 
something  of  its  value  not  only  as  a  great  hay  or  forage 
producing  plant,  but  as  a  fodder  of  unusual  feeding  value. 
Not  until  1900  did  our  people  begin  to  grasp  the  real  value 
of  the  plant  which  was  never  well  established  until  care- 
ful experiments  were  made  by  the  State  Agricultural 
Experimental  Stations  in  a  large  variety  of  feeding  tests. 

In  no  case  was  any  other  hay  or  fodders  found  to  be 
its  equal  except  for  working  horses.  Its  producing  powers 
are  far  in  excess  of  all  other  hay  when  conditions  are 
right. 

In  its  early  culture  and  growth  it  was  considered  to  be 
a  low  land  or  water  plant.  Little  by  little,  however,  it 
has  gone  into  the  prairies  until  today  there  are  many  fields 
of  ten,  twenty,  fifty  and  a  hundred  acres  on  the  high  di- 
vide in  the  more  arid  sections;  in  some  instances  two  and 
three  hundred  feet  above  sheet  water.  In  Kimball  county, 
Nebraska,  twenty  four  miles  from  the  Wyoming  line,  is 
ten  acre  field  now  five  years  old,  312  feet  from  sheet  water 
with  an  average  rainfall  of  14  inches.  This  field  has  cut 
from  one  to  two  and  a-half  tons  of  No.  1  hay  each  year. 
It  is  disked  once  and  harrowed  twice  during  each  season. 

This  is  only  one  out  of  many  similar  cases,  showing 
conclusively  that  with  careful  fitting  and  good  care  alfalfa 
is  a  most  desirable  plant. 


227 

Alfalfa,  like  all  other  crops,  thrives  best  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions.  There  is  probably  no  point  in  the 
raising  of  alfalfa  more  important  than  that  of  securing  a 
good  stand.  It  seems  almost  impossible,  in  fact,  climatic 
conditions  must  be  very  favorable,  in  order  to  get  a  catch 
of  seed  in  reseeding  spots  among  well  rooted  plants.  There 
is  no  seed  that  responds,  or  returns  greater  rewards  for  a 
good  seed  bed  than  alfalfa,  and  yet  it  is  a  very  simple 
proposition,  and  if  the  proper  course  is  pursued  and  good 
seed  used,  there  is  practically  no  question  about  securing 
a  good  stand.  The  summer  culture  plan,  by  which  one 
season's  rain  is  stored  in  the  ground,  and  the  soil  carefully 
prepared  as  outlined  in  the  chapter  under  this  heading,  then 
sowing  the  seed  the  following  spring,  taking  care  to  loosen 
the  surface  soil  the  first  opening  of  spring  is  best.  The  best 
results  we  have  ever  seen  in  western  Kansas  have  come 
from  seeding  early  in  April  on  ground  thus  prepared,  with 
ten  pounds  of  seed  put  in  with  a  shoe  drill  with  a  chain 
cover. 

PLAN    OF    SEEDING. 

The  next  best  plan  is  thorough  culture  from  early 
spring  to  July,  together  with  careful  preparation,  then 
seed  in  July  with  ten  pounds  of  seed  with  drill  or  twenty 
pounds  if  broadcast.  At  the  time  of  seeding  the  above 
field  there  were  about  two  inches  of  loose,  fine  soil  on  the 
surface  made  by  the  use  of  a  common  harrow,  and  the 
shoe  set  so  as  to  put  the  seed  from  one-half  to  one  inch 
into  the  solid,  fine  moist  soil  beneath.  The  seed  came  up 
quickly  and  very  even,  and  if  there  was  any  complaint  to 
be  made  it  was  the  fact  that  it  was  too  thick.  With  the 
prevailing  price  of  alfalfa  seed  the  saving  of  a  few  pounds 
of  seed  is  a  great  item,  especially  in  putting  in  large  fields. 
The  further  fact  that  when  once  sowed  and  the  crop  estab- , 


228 

lished,  it  is  there  for  years  to  come,  certainly  is  sufficient 
argument  to  support  the  demand  for  thorough  and  careful 
preparation  of  the  seed  bed. 

The  summer  culture  idea  involving  this  storage  of  one 
year's  rainfall  puts  the  soil  in  such  .condition  for  five  or 
six  feet  down  that  the  tap  root  immediately  pushes  on 
down  through  this  moist  soil  sending  out  the  little  feeders 
on  their  way  down,  and  the  chances  are  that  a  good  crop 
may  be  harvested  the  first  year,  as  was  true  in  the  case 
above  referred  to,  due  only  to  the  fact  that  the  soil  condi- 
tions were  perfect  for  the  rapid  development  of  roots,  and 
ample  moisture  to  produce  this  magnificent  growth.  While 
it  is  true  that  much  better  results  are  attained  from  alfalfa 
in  valleys  where  sheet  water  is  eight  to  twelve  feet  from 
the  surface,  yet  a  sufficient  number  of  experiments  have 
been  made  and  in  some  of  them  a  sufficient  length  of  time 
has  elapsed,  to  warrant  the  statement  that  on  the  majority 
of  our  high  divides  in  the  semi-arid  belt  as  good  or  better 
yields  can  be  secured  from  this  crop  than  are  commonly 
harvested  in  the  eastern  states  on  the  average  meadows 
of  timothy  and  clover.  The  value  of  lands  where  the 
phenomenal  crops  or  yields  of  alfalfa  along  some  of  the 
valleys  in  western  Nebraska  and  Kansas  has  hardly 
come  to  be  understood,  or  fully  appreciated  even 
by  the  people  who  have  raised  them.  We  are  familiar 
with  fields  that  for  three  successive  years  have  turned  off 
in  alfalfa  hay  alone  from  $30  to  $40  per  acre,  and  where 
hay  and  a  crop  of  seed  has  been  harvested  as.  high  as  $80 
per  acre  has  been  made.  The  value  of  this  plant  for  feed- 
ing hogs,  cattle,  and  sheep  is  just  beginning  to  be  'appre- 
ciated. All  experiments  thus  far  carefully  conducted  luivo 
demonstrated  that  there  is  no  fodder  plant  so  valuable/ 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  229 

PREPARING  THE  FIELDS. 

The  preparing  of  fields  for  seeding  to  alfalfa  on  old 
ground  cannot  be  better  explained  than  in  the  in- 
structions under  the  heading  of  Summer  Culture  for  spring 
wheat  to  which  we  refer  you.  As  stated  above,  alfalfa 
responds  quickly  and  liberally  to  favorable  conditions 
not  only  with  reference  to  ample  moisture,  but  the  more 
available  fertility  the  stronger  is  your  plant  and  the  more 
sure  are  you  of  an  even  stand. 

Under  no  conditions  can  a  man  afford  to  slight  the 
fitting.  A  common  remark  is,  "I  haven't  the  time/'  Stop 
a  moment  and  fairly  and  honestly  consider  what  this 
means.  No  one  can  tell  what  this  season  or  the  next 
will  be,  therefore  don't  forget  this  one  fact,  that  if  you 
do  not  do  such  necessary  work  as  will  guarantee  a  per- 
fectly healthy  stand  under  any  and  all  conditions,  you 
are  liable  to  get  such  dry  and  otherwise  unfavorable 
conditions  as  to  cause  a  complete  failure.  Have  you 
gained  anything  by  slighting  the  preparatory  work  if 
you  lose  all  your  crop?  All  your  time  and  seed  counts 
for  nothing,  you  are  a  year  behind,  and  no  alfalfa  for  the 
hogs  after  all. 

Let  us  look  on  the  other  side — begin  in  the  early  spring 
and  follow  closely  and  carefully  the  rules  for  summer  tilling 
and  put  in  your  seed  either  in  August  or  early  the  following 
spring.  The  latter  we  prefer,  especially  in  sections  where 
summer  and  autumn  rains  are  common,  the  principal  reason 
is  that  we  are  less  liable  to  get  a  heavy  packing  rain  after 
seeding  it  and  before  it  comes  up,  which  is  very  serious. 

We  have  seen  fields  absolutely  ruined  by  the  heavy 
rain  followed  by  hot  sun  just  before  the  seed  comes  up. 
In  sections  where  the  heavy  rains  are  common  in  spring, 
and  less-  liable  or  very  rare  in  midsummer  and  early  au- 


230  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

tumn,  as  is  true  generally  on  the  Pacific  slope,  then  by  all 
means  seed  in  August. 

If  the  early  spring  is  unusually  dry,  then  plan  to  seed 
in  the  spring.  Remember  this  fact  that  planting  in' sum- 
mer tilled  soils  properly  handled  the  germination  is  quick- 
est, and  early  growth  is  most  rapid  when  it  is  clear  sunny 
weather  and  no  rain.  With  the  more  common  methods 
of  fitting  without  sub-packing,  a  good  rain  is  necessary  to 
even  start  the  crop. 

The  difference  between  the  more  common  methods  of 
fitting  and  thorough  scientific  fitting  is  as  broad  as  the 
contrast  between  a  safe  business  proposition  and  that  of 
gambling  on  chance  games. 

SEEDING    ON    NEW    BREAKING. 

Alfalfa,  like  many  other  crops,  may  be  sown  on  new 
breaking  the  same  season  the  breaking  is  done  and  some- 
times gives  satisfactory  results,  but  considering  its  uncer- 
tainty and  the  difference  in  the  value  of  a  good  crop  as 
against  a  poor  crop  and  possibly  none  at  all,  we  are  inclined 
to  give  over  the  whole  season  to  preparation,  for  then  a 
good  crop  is  practically  assured. 

The  proper  time  to  break  depends  somewhat  on  locality 
and  the  time  the  heavy  rains  are  expected.  As  a  rule 
east  of  the  Rocky  mountains  late  fall  or  early  spring 
breaking  is  followed  with  best  results.  For  detailed  in- 
structions on  fitting,  note  general  matter  under  the  head 
of  plowing.  Briefly,  the  breaking  for  alfalfa  should  be 
about  three  and  one-half  inches  deep,  using  every  possible 
means  and  care  to  lay  the  furrow  slice  flat  and  roll  down 
solid  either  with  the  sub-packer  or  smooth  roller,  then 
disk,  but  do  not  set  the  disk  at  a  sufficient  angle  to  cut 
through  the  sod,  let  the  disk  lap  half,  then  follow  with  the 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  231 

steel  lever  harrow  slightly  slanted  going  both  with  the 
disk  and  lever  harrow  same  direction  as  the  team  traveled 
in  breaking.  If  care  is  taken  in  plowing,  then  in  rolling, 
then  in  disking,  you  will  have  about  two  inches  of  loose 
soil.  Harrow  thoroughly  after  each  rain.  If  this  is  fully 
accomplished  the  sod  will  not  only  be  fully  rotted  in  a 
very  short  time,  but  the  top  of  the  sub-soil  beneath  will  also 
become  rotted  to  a  depth  of  two  or  three  inches.  As  soon  as 
this  is  found  to  be  true,  then  begin  back  setting  or  plowing 
with  the  stubble  plow,  cutting  about  two  and  one-half 
inches  deeper;  follow  the  plow  with  the  packer  as  explained 
under  the  head  of  Plowing  and  Sub-Packing,  then  follow 
with  the  harrow,  any  good  harrow,  getting  it  all  fine 
and  firm  before  it  has  time  to  dry  out.  Look  well  to  the 
storage  of  later  rains  and  be  ready  to  loosen  the  surface  in 
early  spring  with  the  harrow  and  put  in  your  seed  fairly 
early,  governed  largely  by  the  locality,  using  not  over  ten 
pounds  of  good  seed  with  a  shoe  drill  and  chain  cover. 
If  your  work  is  all  well  done,  as  outlined,  you  need 
have  no  fears  of  the  result. 


232  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTI'KI;   MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


SEEKING  NEW  ARID  PLANTS. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture,  which  is  expending 
millions  each  year  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture,  has  thus 
far,  in  taking  up  a  study  of  the  problem  of  the  arid  and 
semi-arid  regions,  confined  itself  to  two  things,  namely, 
irrigation  and  the  seeking  of  new  plants. 

All  honor  to  those  who  have  so  well  directed  the  ex-* 
penditure  of  money  to  make  irrigation  farming  possible 
in  rich  valleys  that  were  lying  fallow! 

And  to  those  who  have  earnestly  sought  new  plants 
that  will  be  of  value  in  dry  regions,  may  they  be  successful 
far  beyond  their  fondest  dreams ! 

But  it  will  not  do  to  place  great  dependence  on  the 
finding  of  plants  that  will  grow  in  the  deserts  without 
application  of  special  methods  of  cultivation.  Indeed,  Prof. 
Hansen,  the  agent  of  the  United  States  government,  who 
has  been  specially  engaged  in  this  work  a  number  of  years, 
has  warned  against  over-confidence  in  this  regard. 

"We  are  going  to  extend  the  alfalfa  belt  as  far  north 
as  we  can/'  said  Prof.  Hansen  on  his  return  from  Asia 
in  the  autumn  of  1906,  "and  we  hope  that  these  seeds 
will  prove  all  that  we  expect  of  them.  But  there  is  no 
use  in  expecting  too  much.  I  would  not  risk  my  reputa- 
tion on  any  positive  predictions;  I  can  only  say  that  we 
confidently  hope  that  we  have  found  the  right  thing." 

Prof.  Hansen  was  referring  especially  to  the  seed  of 
alfalfa  and  clover  which  he  sent  back  from  northern  Asia 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE;   MANUAL  233 

It  appears  thai  1  ho  effort  has  been  found  rather  to  find  a 
quick  growing  plant  adapted  to  extreme  northern  sum- 
mers, than  one  which  will  defy  drouth.  Prof.  Hansen 
sent  back  from  Asia  the  seeds  of  three  kinds  of  alfalfa, 
two  found  far  north  and  growing  where  there  was  little 
rain,  and  the  other  growing  in  the  woods.  He  also  brought 
back  seeds  of  several  kinds  of  clover  native  in  northern 
Siberia  where  it  is  very  cold,  with  short  summers  and 
little  rain.  All  these  will  be  tried  out  in  the  Dakotas  and 
in  a  few  years  seed  will  be  distributed  to  farmers.  Another 
thing  brought  back  is  a  coarse  potato  suitable  only  for 
stock  food,  which  is  said  to  grow  in  a  dry  northern  cli- 
mate. A  visit  was  made  also  to  the  high  table  land  in 
central  Asia,  where,  it  is  stated,  alfalfa  has  been  grown  for 
centuries  under  conditions  very  similar  to  those  found  in 
the  semi-arid  region  of  America. 

It  does  not  appear,  from  anything  that  has  as  yet  been 
published,  that  any  special  information  has  been  secured 
as  to  the  character  of  the  soil  or  the  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion which  have  prevailed  in  these  regions  of  the  old  world 
where  conditions  are  exceptional. 

From  what  Prof.  Hansen  has  said  it  may  be  fairly 
inferred  that  he  realizes  fully  that  drouth  resistance  is 
something  that  does  not  inhere  alone  in  plants,  but  there 
are  other  things  to  be  considered. 

The  fact  is  that  great  good  can  and  will  be  accom- 
plished by  the  .importation  of  new  plants  adapted  to 
growth  in  unusual  climates,  but  this  must  and  will  be, 
by  and  through  cultivation  of  these  plants  in  connection 
with  systems  of  soil  culture  adapted  to  the  regions.  Suc- 
cess in  adapting  Asiatic  drouth-resisting  plants  and  grasses 
will  be  attained  only  by  making  use  of  scientific  soil  cul- 
ture. Putting  the  two  together  will  be  vastly  beneficial. 


234  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

But  the  quest  for  plants  that  will  grow  right  out  upon 
the  western  and  northern  prairies  and  make  good  crops 
under  conditions  of  cultivation  used  in  the  humid  regions 
or  with  little  or  no  care,  is  destined  to  be  a  dead  failure. 
The  owners  of  land  in  this  region  must  understand  now, 
513  they  will  some  time,  that  there  are  no  plants  anywhere 
in  the  world  that  will  make  good  crops  in  dry  regions 
without  the  most  careful  preparation  of  the  soil. 

Intelligent  farmers  everywhere  will  give  all  possible 
encouragement  to  the  effort  to  introduce  new  and  valuable 
plants,  and  they  will  do  well  to  make  a  study  of  these 
plants  in  relation  to  the  very  best  systems  of  cultiva- 
tion. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  235 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


IRRIGATION. 

There  is  no  conflict  or  antagonism  between  scientific 
soil  culture  and  irrigation.  There  is  nothing  in  our  teach- 
ings that  need  be  taken  as  in  any  sense  hostile  to  the  great 
development  of  irrigation  projects  in  the  west.  Neither 
is  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  semi-arid  region  to  be 
found  in  the  adoption  of  irrigation. 

Irrigation  farming  is  being  carried  on  in  many  of  the 
splendid  valleys  of  the  west  with  great  success.  The  irri- 
gated area  is  sure  to  be  rapidly  and  greatly  enlarged,  and 
no  man  can  tell  what  results  are  possible.  The  United 
States  government,  under  authority  of  congress,  has  en- 
couraged this  by  special  laws  under  which  irrigation  dis- 
tricts are  created  and  favors  given  to  large  companies,  and 
by  direct  appropriation  for  construction  of  gigantic  dams 
and  reservoirs.  That  this  is  money  well  spent  will  not 
be  disputed  by  persons  familiar  with  what  is  being  accom- 
plished. 

But  it  is  true  that  the  area  which  may  be  brought  under 
cultivation  with  irrigation  is  limited,  as  compared  with  the 
vaster  areas  where  ditches  are  not  possible.  It  is  also 
true  that  at  best  irrigation  farming  is  expensive  and  it 
necessitates  special  farming  and  intensive  work  in  order 
that  it  will  pay.  Under  such  circumstances  the  farmers 
must  get  immense  returns  for  their  labor. 

Scientific  soil  culture  and  irrigation  therefore  supple- 
ment each  other.  There  are  millions  of  acres  of  the  most 


CAMPBELLS    -SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL 

fertile  lands,  level  and  easy  of  cultivation,  near  to  the 
irrigation  districts  but  which  cannot  be  irrigated  without 
unwarranted  expense,  which  receive  ample  rainfall  to  pro- 
duce fine  and  profitable  crops  if  the  water  is  properly 
stored  and  utilized..  These  lands  will  remain  useless  un- 
less scientific  soil  culture  is  adopted. 

Then  there  are  millions  of  other  acres  of  land  in  the 
same  region,  which  are  now  used  for  farming  in  some  way, 
where  there  is  sufficient  rainfall  to  make  irrigation  im- 
practicable, but  where  the  present  yield  of  crops  under  the 
old  system  is  not  to  exceed  one-third  what  it  might  be  if 
the  general  principles  of  our  system  were  fully  understood 
and  practiced. 

But  the  value  of  this  system  will  be  still  more  shown 
on  the  millions  of  acres  of  irrigated  land  where  best  results 
are  not  obtained.  On  these  areas  irrigation  is  possible, 
but  the  quantity  of  water  is  limited,  and  there  can  never 
be  enough  to  carry  on  irrigation  farming  by  the  wasteful 
methods  so  common.  Scientific  soil  culture  comes  in  to 
greatly  enlarge  the  area  of  irrigable  lands  by  showing  how 
good  results  can  be  obtained  by  much  less  water. 

The  fundamental  principle  upon  which  the  success  of 
this  system  is  based  is  that  of  economical  use  of  water, 
it  matters  not  whence  it  cometh,  whether  direct  from  the 
clouds  or  from  the  flowing  streams,  ditches,  reservoirs,  or 
wells.  The  first  and  important  thing  to  do  is  to  get  a 
supply  of  water  stored  in  the  soil  to  feed,  nourish  and 
mature  the  crop  in  a  period  of  dry  weather;  and  the  second 
and  almost  equally  important  requisite  is  the  ideal  seed 
and  root  bed,  so  vital  in  the  success  of  our  system,  all  of 
which  is  necessary  in  growing  crops  by  artificial*  applica- 
tion ol  water  required  in  irrigation. 

Of  course  if  the  farmer  has  water  to  waste,  whether 


237 

from  ditches  or  clouds,  he  can  be  wasteful  and  still  pros- 
per. We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying  that  a 
farmer  may  not  get  a  better  crop  with  plenty  of  water  to 
turn  loose  at  will  upon  a  piece  of  ground  poorly  fitted 
than  he  could  with  the  same  reckless  fitting  and  be  obliged 
to  depend  upon  replenishing  his  soil  with  moisture  from 
the  heavens.  But  that  is  not  the  question  today  with 
the  progressive  farmer. 

How  can  we  get  the  greatest  results  from  our  soil,  the 
labor  and  expense  being  considered?  That  is  the  question 
of  today,  whether  in  irrigation  districts  or  elsewhere.  And 
in  fact,  nowhere  is  it  more  essential  to  guard  against  waste 
than  in  applying  irrigation.  The  expensive  thing  is  water. 
Seldom  is  there  as  much  water  as  there  is  land.  The  irri- 
gation area  is  limited  by  the  quantity  of  available  water. 
By  following  methods  that  will  reduce  the  amount  of  water 
needed  per  acre,  the  number  of  acres  that  may  be  supplied 
from  a  given  ditch  or  reservoir  can  be  increased. 

The  ideal  condition  for  the  most  healthful  and  success- 
ful growth  of  all  cultivated  -crops  is  a  good  depth  of  root 
bed  made  thoroughly  fine  and  firm.  There  is  little  danger 
in  getting  the  average  sand  loam  soils,  so  common  in  the 
arid  and  semi-arid  sections,  too  firm,  while  some  of  our 
heavy  clay  soils  if  not  properly  handled  might  become  too 
closely  compacted,  but  this  kind  of  soil  is  not  at  all  com- 
mon. Previous  to  the  thorough  fitting  of  the  seed  and  root 
bed  see  to  it  that  ample  moisture  is  stored  below  where 
nature  can  do  her  part  by  bringing  it  up  to  the  roots  of  the 
growing  plants  by  capillary  attraction,  then  keep  your  sur- 
face always  cultivated  in  such  manner  as  to  provide  as  near 
us  possible  a  fine,  loose  mulch  of  soil  (not  dust),  stirring  it 
often  enough  to  keep  the  moisture  up  to  the  top  of  the  firm 
soil  nist  beneath  the  mulch.  The  moment  the  top  of  this 


238  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

firm  soil  becomes  in  the  least  dry  there  is  immediately  a 
process  of  depositing  of  salts  and  other  matter  between  these 
particles  of  soil  closing  the  pores  and  consequently  dimin- 
ishing the  quantity  of  air  that  should  freely  pass  through 
this  soil  to  the  roots.  This  condition  not  only  points  to 
the  fact  that  you  are  allowing  the  air  to  be  shut  out  but  that 
you  are  losing  moisture  by  evaporation  from  the  soil  which 
may  be  checked  by  cultivation.  In  fact,  there  should  be 
no  dry  soil  above  your  moisture  except  what  is  loose  and 
fine. 

Sub-irrigation  is  being  practiced  with  marvelous  re- 
sults in  some  instances.  This  demonstrates  clearly  that  if 
the  irrigator  will  watch  his  opportunity  and  will  turn  on 
his  surplus  water  in  the  fall  after  his  crop  has  been  removed 
or  during  the  winter  or  early  spring,  with  the  water  stored 
in  the  soil  below  and  care  in  conserving  the  moisture  by 
proper  cultivation,  fine  crops  can  be  grown  with  very  little 
after  irrigation. 

Very  large  crops  of  winter  wheat  should  be  grown  on 
the  average  soils  in  Colorado  and  sections  under  similar 
conditions  if  special  effort  was  carefully  put  forth  to  irri- 
gate thoroughly,  immediately  after  the  crop  is  harvested, 
then  double  disk  as  soon  as  the  surface  is  sufficiently  dry 
to  do  the  work  without  sticking.  Plowing  later  using  great 
care  to  pack  the  plowed  portions  and  harrow  the  surface 
while  moist,  seeding  sufficiently  early  for  a  good  fall  growth, 
then  harrow  early  in  the  spring,  then  with  one  irrigation 
after  the  foliage  fully  covers  the  surface,  sixty  bushels  per 
acre  should  be  common  under  such  conditions.  In  all  crop- 
growing  under  irrigation,  much  consideration  should  be 
given  to  the  chapters  under  the  following  headings:  "Phys- 
ical conditon  of  the  soil/'  "air  and  its  importance  in  the 
soil"  and  the  "water  holding  capacity  of  the  soil/' 


PHYSICAL   CONDITIONS    OF    THE   SOIL. 

The  one  vital  question  that  the  irrigator  must  consider 
no  matter  how  much  water  he  may  have  available  is  the 
physical  condition  of  the  soil.  Plants  do  not  thrive  on  water 
alone.  A  combination  of  the  properties  of  air  and  water 
together  with  heat  and  light  are  the  resourceful  elements 
which  we  have,  and  nm?s  be  utilized  in  proper  proportions 
combined  in  the  soil  under  proper  conditions  or  we  cannot 
secure  the  large  yields.  It  is  folly  for  a  man  to  own  a  tract 
of  land  and  in  addition  thereto  to  own  a  water-right,  and 
then  to  use  them  without  securing  to  exceed  one-half  or 
one-third  of  the  best  yield  of  that  field;  if  he  himself  will 
only  do  his  part  intelligently.  The  part  which  he  must 
play  is  that  of  preparing  the  soil,  securing  that  ideal  con- 
dition which  is  illustrated  in  several  of  the  previous  chap- 
ters by  cuts.  Following  this  is  that  all  important  part  of 
keeping  the  surface  of  the  soil  in  condition  to  admit  the  air, 
the  importance  of  which  is  fully  detailed  under  the  head  of 
"Air  in  the  Soil."  At  no  time  should  the  moisture  that  is 
forced  into  the  soil  from  the  ditches  by  gravity  be  allowed 
to  return  in  any  quantities  to  the  surface  and  evaporate. 

It  is  through  this  upward  movement  of  moisture  by 
capillary  attraction  that  many  of  our  fields  which  are  under- 
laid with  a  large  per  cent  of  alkali  are  ruined,  this  alkali 
when  in  a  soluble  or  dissolved  condition  rises  to  the  sur- 
face with  the  moisture  in  its  upward  movement  by  capillary 
attraction,  and  as  the  moisture  leaves  in  a  vapor,  the  solid 
alkali  is  left  on  the  surface. 

Too  much  water  is  almost  invariably  applied  to  irri- 
gating fields  simply  because  we  have  been  led  to  place  all 
faith  in  water  and  water  only  as  the  producing  power.  From 
all  our  observations  in  irrigation,  the  reading  of  bulletins 
and  correspondence  with  people  who  have  had  yearc 


240  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

of  experience  in  California,  Colorado,  and  many  other  sec- 
tions, it  is  our  candid  opinion  that  the  average  irrigator 
east  of  the  rockies  would  produce  better  results  with  one- 
quarter  of  water  he  has  commonly  used,  together  with  the 
scientific  principles  of  soil  culture  as  laid  down  under  the 
various  chapters  in  this  book.  (See  Sugar  Beets  by  Irri- 
gation.) 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  241 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

ARBORICULTURE. 

Arbor  Day  is  in  fact  a  national  day.  The  people  of 
nearly  all  the  states  give  recognition  to  the  immense  im- 
portance of  tree  planting  by  setting  apart  a  day  for  this 
work.  The  late  J.  Sterling  Morton,  of  Nebraska  City,  a 
pioneer  of  the  trans-Missouri  country,  was  the  father  of 
Arbor  Day,  and  .by  his  zeal  and  interest  in  it  he  forced 
recognition  for  the  day  everywhere. 

Mr.  Morton  was  for  more  than  forty  years  a  resident 
of  Nebraska.  At  his  home,  Arbor  Lodge,  as  he  called  it, 
is  one  of  the  finest  groves  of  trees  in  all  the  country.  Shortly 
before  his  death  he  wrote  expressly  for  the  1902  Soil  Cul- 
ture Manual  the  letter  which  follows,  and  what  he  then 
wrote  has  such  permanent  value  that  it  is  here  repeated. 
He  had  become  deeply  interested  in  the  work  being  done 
for  study  of  the  soil  and  for  agriculture  in  the  semi-and 
br\L  He  wrote: 

Mr.  H.  W.  Campbell: 

DEAR  SIR — After  an  experience  of  more  than  forty 
years  at  Arbor  Lodge,  adjoining  Nebraska  City,  in  the 
County  of  Otoe,  I  declare  that  the  best  method  of  plant- 
ing forest  trees  is  in  rows  running  north  and  south.  The 
first  row  on  the  east  should  be  of  a  rapidly  growing  variety, 
like  catalpa  speciosa,  cottonwood,  aspen,  or  soft  maple. 
The  next  row  should  be  a  nut-bearing  tree,  like  the  black 
walnut,  butternut,  or  coffee  bean.  The  next  succeeding 
row  on  the  west  should  be,  like  the  first  one,  of  a  rapidly 


242  CAMPBELL'S   SOIL   CULTUKE    MANUAL, 


THE  LATE  J.  STERLING  MORTON. 
Nebraska  Pioneer,  Father  of  Arbor  Day,  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

growing  variety.  Planted  in  this  way,  the  swiftly  grow- 
ing trees  act  as  nurses  for  the  slowly  growing  trees.  Planted 
thus,  black  walnut,  instead  of  putting  on  a  scrubby  growth 
and  looking  like  gigantic  quince  trees  when  they  have 
reached  twenty  years  of  age,  run  up  towards  the  sun  for 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


243 


light  and  make  good  trunks  of  twenty  feet  in  length.  This 
wood  is  valuable,  and  trees  thus  planted  are  grown  with 
relative  celerity.  At  Arbor  Lodge  I  have  between  100  and 
200  walnuts  thus  treated,  which  were  put  into  the  gronud 
in  the  autumn  of  1865,  and  if  you  could  see  and  measure 
them,  it  would  be  a  work  of  supererogation  for  me  to  make 
further  argument  in  favor  of  this  system  of  planting. 

To  grow  either  deciduous  trees  or  any  variety  of  conifers 
on  these  plains  with  any  degree  of  success,  it  is  necessary 


A  PRAIRIE  PARK. 
Portion  of  Arbor  Lodge,  showing  result  of  tree  planting  in  Nebraska. 

to  plant  them  close  together.  All  great  forests,  whence 
have  come  the  best  timber  that  man  has  ever  used  for 
building  and  cabinet  woods,  have  been  dense.  The  vast 
pineries  of  the  Northwest  were  so  closely  planted  by  nature 
that  it  was  impossible  for  a  horseman  to  ride  through  many 


244 


CAMPBELL'S   SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL 


of  them  because  of  the  interweaving  branches.  To  suc- 
cessfully grow  trees  like  those  the  forests  produced,  we 
must  endeavor  to  create  forestal  conditions. 

In  1892  I  planted  10,000  white  pines,  purchased  of 
Robert  Douglas'  Sons  at  Waukegan,  111.  They  were  two 
years  old  and  averaged  perhaps  a  foot  to  14  inches  in  height. 
They  were  planted  in  rows  4  feet  apart,  and  the  trees  were 


ARBOR  LODGE. 
Home  of  the  late  J.  Sterling  Morton,  at  Nebraska  City. 

4  feet  from  each  other  in  the  rows.  They  were  cultivated 
as  corn  is  cultivated,  the  furrows  going  first  east  and  west 
and  then  north  and  south.  They  have  made  a  remarkably 
fine  growth,  both  as  to  height  and  circumference.  Many  of 
them  are  from  four  to  five  inches  in  diameter  and  from  18 
to  20  feet  in  height.  It  is  with  difficulty  that  a  man  can 
walk  among  them,  and  last  summer  when  the  drought  and 


CAMPBELL  S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL 


-45 


not  winds  were  doing  their  worst  to  smother  and  parch 
out  vegetation  in  this  section  of  the  country,  those  pines 
showed  no  indication  of  distress.  Going  in  among  them 
and  stooping  down,  and  looking  under  their  lower  limbs, 
one  could  not  see  a  single  particle  of  vegetable  growth  aside 
from  the  trees.  The  ground  was  thoroughly  mulched  with 
the  needles  which  had  fallen  from  them,  and  blanketed  the 


ARBOR  LODGE  TREES. 

Part  of  the  evergreen  grove  set  by  the  hands  of  the  late  J.  Sterling 

Morton. 

earth,  so  to  speak,  with  the  mold  which  they  had  created. 
Removing  this  carpet  of  needles  one  could  find  moist,  cool 
soil  at  all  times.  The  conditions  about  the  roots  of  these 
trees  were  such  as  their  ancestors  found  in  the  great  pine- 
ries of  Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  Michigan. 

lilany  varieties  of  trees  have  been  condemned  as  unfit 
for  cultivation  in  Nebraska,  after  trying  them  m  isolated 


246  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

positions,  exposed  to  the  hot  sun  and  drying  winds  from 
the  southwest.  Trees  are  almost  as  gregarious  as  human 
beings.  No  man  or  woman  could  have  been  perfectly  de- 
veloped, physically,  and  intellectually,  in  absolute  solitude 
and  without  communication  or  intercourse  with  other  hu- 
man beings.  And  just  so,  no  single  tree  planted  out  on 
the  hot  prairie,  exposed  to  the  burning  sun  all  day  long, 
can  make  as  perfect  a  specimen  of  its  kind  as  can  be  grown 
where  trees  are  clustered  together. 

Arboriculture  is  absolutely  indispensible  to  the  conser- 
vation of  other  plant  life,  and  even  to  the  existence  of  ani- 
mal life  on  these  planis.  The  independence  of  the  lives 
of  trees  and  the  lives  of  human  beings  is  constant.  If  a 
single  summer  should  be  passed  without  foliage,  flower  or 
fruit  on  the  globe,  all  animal  existence  would  cease. 

Your  great  work  in  soil  culture  is  thoroughly  appre- 
ciated by  every  thinking  citizen  of  Nebraska.  Your  in- 
telligent efforts  to  benefit  the  agriculture  and  horticulture 
of  this  state  are  of  greater  value  to  your  race  and  to  those 
who  come  after  you  than  all  the  efforts  of  all  the  members 
of  congress  who  have  ever  represented  this  commonwealth 
at  Washington.  It  is  a  gratification  to  realize  that  soil 
culture  and  arboriculture  are  destined,  without  asking  an 
appropriation  from  the  general  government,  to  revolu- 
tionize the  climatic  and  productive  conditions  of  the  state 
of  Nebraska.  Just  as  plants  need  light  and  as  potato 
sprouts  in  dark  cellars  seek  the  windows  and  doors  where 
the  sun's  rays  occasionally  stream  in,  so  all  the  people  of 
the  prairie  states  need  the  illuminating  practicalities  of 
your  researches  and  experiments  in  soil  cullture,  which 
illustrate  the  method  of  insuring  crops  by  intelligent  tillage 
against  destruction  by  drouths. 

J.  STERLING  MORTON. 
ARBOR  LODGE,  Jan.  18th.,  1902. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  247 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


SOIL  MULCH  OR  DUST  BLANKET. 

As  the  interest  develops  in  Scientific  Soil  Culture  there 
are  frequent  instances  where  the  innocent  are  misled  in 
unintentional  ways.  Among  the  more  common  is  the  refer- 
ence to  the  name  applied  to  the  loose  soil  established  by 
the  cultivator  or  harrow  over  the  tilled  fields.  It  is  very 
important  that  this  question  be  fully  understood,  for  much 
difficulty  and  trouble  may  be  avoided  thereby. 

DUST    BLANKET. 

The  name  Dust  Blanket  is  an  old  one  and  is  today 
very  commonly  used,  especially  by  the  older  writers,  and 
as  a  rule  is  taken  by  the  farmer  to  mean  literally  what  it 
says,  dust.  The  dust  blanket  in  the  older  and  more  humid 
sections  of  the  east  where  the  name  originated,  was  con- 
sidered by  many  to  be  necessary  for  the  best  protection 
of  moisture.  This,  however,  has  been  found  to  be  an  error 
in  the  more  arid  sections  where  the  atmosphere  is  so  much 
dryer.  It  also  was  found  to  be  the  wrong  idea  by  Prof. 
King  in  his  very  elaborate  experiments  at  the  Wisconsin 
Experiment  Station  during  the  early  nineties.  In  the  fol- 
lowing, quoted  from  his  book,  "The  Soil,"  on  page  195,  he 
refers  to  the  comparative  effectiveness  of  a  mulch  of  coarse 
quartz  sand  that  would  pass  a  screen  of  20  meshes  to  the 
inch,  but  was  retained  by  one  of  40  meshes  as  compared 
with  pulverized  air  dried  clay  of  equal  thickness.  It  was 
found  that  the  evaporation  from  the  soil  with  dust  mulch 


248  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

prepared  from  pulverized  clay  was  three  and  a  half  times 
as  great  as  from  the  soil  with  the  coarse  sand  mulch. 

The  conclusions  of  Prof.  King  after  these  experiments 
have  been  fully  corroborated  by  all  of  our  observations, 
there  is  no  result  without  a  cause  and  a  theory  can  never 
be  accepted  as  a  fact  until  the  cause  is  fully  understood. 

Under  the  head  of  capillary  attraction  we  have  learned 
that  moistures  moves  very  much  faster  through  small  pores 
in  the  soil  than  large  ones,  while  it  is  true  that  soil  abso- 


A.  B. 

Cut  No.  22.     Soil  Mulch  and  Dust  Blanket  before  rain,     (a)  Soil 
Mulch;  (b)  Dust  Blanket. 

lutely  void  of  moisture  is  minus  any  capillary  attraction 
yet,  when  the  rays  of  the  sun  in  a  mid-July  day  pierces 
the  soil's  surface  the  dry  dust  soon  becomes  so  very  warm 
or  hot  that  a  vapor  begins  to  rise  from  the  surface  of  the 
moist  soil  below  and  soon  the  lower  particles  of  the  dust 
blanket  become  slightly  moistened;  then  other  particles 
still  above,  while  the  lower  ones  become  slightly  more 
moist  until  connection  is  sufficient  to  lift  the  moisture  on 
up  to  the  surface  where  it  is  lost. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


249 


The  dust  blanket  is  also  very  objectionable  in  the 
early  spring,  as  a  warranty  deed  or  a  patent  from  Uncle 
Sam  will  not  hold  it  when  the  strong  March  winds  reach 
after  it.  This  difficulty,  however,  is  not  true  in  all  the 
semi-arid  sections,  especially  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  but  is 


A.  B. 

Cut  No.  23.     Soil  Mulch  and  Dust  Blanket  after  rain- 
Mulch,     (b)  Dnst  Blanket. 


(a)Sofl 


very  serious  in  other  localities  that  are  more  subject  to 
high  spring  winds. 

The  dust  blanket  is  also  objectionable  wherever  heavy 
rains  are  liable  to  occur,  more  especially  in  sections  where 
the  soils  are  of  a  very  fine  texture.  The  tendency  of  a 
sudden  heavy  rain  falling  upon  a  dust  blanket  or  mulch  is 
to  dissolve  and  run  the  mulch  together,  leaving  it  very  hard 
and  compact  on  the  surface.  If  the  sun  can  reach  the  sur- 
face a  very  dense  crust  is  quickly  formed  and  if  not  worked 
very  quickly  it  will  soon  be  so  hard  that  the  common  har- 
row or  weeder  will  not  touch  it. 


250  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

SOIL  MULCH. 

Soil  mulch  is  the  true  name  for  the  loose  soil  on  sur- 
face intended  to  conserve  moisture  below,  and  this  mulch 
should  be  composed  of  lumps  of  soil  ranging  from  the  size 
of  a  pin  head  to  that  of  a  walnut.  To  secure  such  a  mulch 
may  seem  difficult,  but  it  is  not  if  the  soil  is  cultivated  or 
harrowed  when  moist,  not  wet,  not  dry.  When  loosened 
up  under  this  condition  the  soil  readily  separates  the  same 
as  when  plowed  in  ideal  condition.  Careful  notation  will 
disclose  the  fact  that  the  soil  under  this  condition  takes 
a  granular  form.  The  sun  soon  .dries  these  granules  or 
lumps  and  no  blowing  will  be  noted  whatever. 

A  soil  mulch  composed  of  these  minute  and  larger 
lumps  will  hold  the  moisture  below  without  loss  very  much 
longer  and  very  much  more  effectively  than  the  dust  blanket. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  251 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


GETTING  MOST  OUT  OF  THE  FARM. 

There  is  much  loss  to  farming  operations,  and  it  is  a 
matter  of  common  knowledge  that  the  great  majority  of 
farmers  fall  short  of  achieving  their  best  because  of 
the  imperfection  of  their  work.  There  are  so  many  ways 
that  loss  can  come  to  the  farmer  that  this  is  not  surprising. 
It  may  come  through  indolence  or  the  inability  to  do  that 
which  is  nesessary.  Farming  is  hard  work  when  science 
is  not  recognized.  It  may  come  through  sheer  waste,  for 
there  is  no  other  place  where  waste  is  so  easy  and  so  con- 
stant unless  guarded  against.  It  too  frequently  comes  be- 
cause of  wrong  methods,  or  doing  the  wrong  thing,  or 
trying  too  many  experiments,  or  because  the  farmer  dis- 
poses of  his  raw  materials,  and  only  half  completes  the 
work  that  is  his  by  right. 

That  there  is  a  right  way  and  a  wrong  way  for  nearly 
everything  will  not  be  disputed.  Familiar  illustrations 
are  found  on  every  hand.  The  housewife  who  combines 
skill  and  intelligence  with  her  work  prepares  the  bread, 
and  after  working,  and  mixing,  and  baking,  she  produces 
the  finest  loaf  possible.  Another  with  the  same  materials, 
and  doing  perhaps  as  much  work,  but  in  a  different  way, 
gets  bread  unfit  for  the  table.  And  so  it  is  with  nearly 
everything. 

In  agriculture  it  is  necessary  that  the  farmer,  if  he  is  to 
keep  abreast  of  the  times,  if  he  is  to  compete  with  others, 
if  he  is  to  get  the  most  out  of  his  farming  operations  and 


252  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

realize  what  he  should,  must  put  his  head  to  work  and 
inform  himself  as  to  the  correct  lines  to  follow  that  he  may 
be  most  successful.  He  must  learn  how  to  handle  the 
soil  that  he  will  haye  it  at  his  command  the  largest  amount 
of  available  soil  fertility,  and  he  must  know  how  to  use 
this.  But  he  must  go  further  and  make  a  study  of  the 
question  how  to  get  the  greatest  benefit  from  his  crops 
by  diversification  of  his  industry  and  by  completing  the 
processes. 

Diversified  farming  is  a  subject  to  which  too  little  atten- 
tion is  given  by  the  average  farmer.  He  imagines  it  is 
some  fad  or  tomfoolery  and  that  it  is  best  confined  to  the 
books.  But  it  is  a  reality.  It  shows  results,  and  that  is 
the  important  thing. 

The  farmer  is  by  nature  and  training  conservative.  He 
has  done  well;  he  cannot  very  well  realize  how  much  better 
he  might  have  done,  or  what  is  possible  for  him  in  the 
future.  He  does  not  comprehend,  except  in  rare  instances, 
the  vast  difference  in  final  profits  between  doing  things  by 
strictly  scientific  methods  and  doing  the  same  things  by 
the  common  go-lucky  way. 

It  is  not  sufficient  that  the  farmer  find  out  how  to  grow 
the  largest  crops  and  get  tons  or  bushels  as  his  portion; 
he  must  know  what  further  he  can  do  with  his  grain  and 
hay  and  fodder  to  make  the  end  most  desirable.  Divers- 
ified or  mixed  farming  shows  the  way.  Grain  raising  to 
the  exclusion  of  all  else  is  not  wise.  It  is  wasteful  to  the 
land,  and  wasteful  to  the  crop  itself.  By  raising  all  kinds 
of  crops  better  results  are  obtained. 

And  in  the  matter  of  preventing  waste,  it  is  essential 
that  live  stock  be  added  to  the  farm.  Cattle  and  hogs, 
and  perhaps  sheep  and  poultry,  are  necessary.  Right 
there  the  farmer  becomes  in  part  a  manufacturer.  The 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  253 

conversion  of  the  corn  and  oats  and  hay  into  meat,  butter, 
cheese,  etc.,  is  the  aim  of  farming  operations  in  general. 
The  grain  must  finally  be  fit  for  human  food  in  some 
form.  Raising  live  stock  is  a  part  of  the  process  of  manu- 
facturing good  food  out  of  the  grain. 

Dairying  and  poultry  raising  go  a  long  way  toward 
completing  the  natural  processes  of  the  farm.  Both  are 
possible  in  some  degree  on  all  farms.  Sometimes  best 
results  are  possible  in  dairying  only  where  there  are  many 
farmers  combined  to  work  together,  but  always  there  is 
some  advantage  in  keeping  a  few  animals  on  the  farm. 
As  to  breeds,  feeding  and  care  of  live  stock  that  is  another 
question — one  so  broad  that  it  should  be  treated  in  sepa- 
rate volumes — but  its  relationship  to  other  farm  operations 
is  easily  understood. 

It  has  been  declared  with  much  positiveness  that  the 
waste  on  an  average  farm  represents  a  value  greater  than 
the  average  profit  of  farms.  If  so,  then  farmers  have  not 
done  as  well  as  those  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  com- 
mercial pursuits.  The  expense  of  operation  of  the  great 
packing  plants,  so  it  is  stated,  is  paid  in  full  by  the  receipts 
from  that  which  formerly  went  as  waste  in  the  processes  of 
meat  marketing.  A  good  deal  of  the  same  kind  of  economy 
is  possible  on  the  farm. 

In  the  matter  of  preventing  waste  on  the  farm  nothing 
is  quite  equal  to  cattle  and  hogs.  Between  them  they 
glean  all  that  is  valuable,  But  in  addition  they  retain  on 
the  farm  that  which  is  valuable  to  soil  and  which  may  be 
returned  from  time  to  time  in  the  form  of  the  barnyard 
manures  which  are  essential  to  the  best  farming  operations. 
The  application  of  barnyard  manures  to  the  land  will  go 
far  toward,  and  is  one  of  the  requisites  in  maintaining  the 
soil  fertility  and  offsetting  the  evil  effects  of  drouth. 


254 

The  proper  diversification  of  farming  operations  is  a 
fit  subject  for  much  study  by  every  intelligent  farmer.  It 
has  relation  to  all  his  work.  It  goes  to  the  point  of  con- 
serving soil  elements  and  building  up  the  soil  by  develop- 
ment of  the  necessary  humus,  and  it  has  relation  to  waste 
and  to  partial  manufacture  as  a  part  of  farm  work.  The 
diversification  may  come  in  a  score  of  ways.  It  is  not 
best  to  carry  it  too  far  or  to  try  all  ways  at  once ;  but  careful 
study  of  the  subject  in  connection  with  the  local  conditions 
and  opportunities  will  point  the  right  way.  It  is  at  least 
quite  proper  to  make  a  specialty  of  some  one  thing. 

In  a  large  sense  the  science  of  proper  culture  of  the  soil 
so  as  to  make  its  properties  available  for  the  best  results 
is  only  one  branch  of  the  larger  subject  of  properly  mixing 
the  farm  operations  so  as  to  get  the  most  out  of  the  soil. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  ?55 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


PRACTICAL  RESULTS. 

What  has  actually  been  done  to  demonstrate  that 
scientific  soil  culture  is  practical  and  that  good  results 
follow? 

The  question  is  a  proper  one.  The  careful  reader  of 
this  manual  will  hardly  need  to  ask  the  question,  for  scat- 
tered all  through  it  is  given  many  illustrations  of  what  has 
been  done,  and  many  reports  are  made  of  specific  results 
attained  under  the  system.  But  at  the  risk  of  doing  that 
which  is  needless,  we  desire  here  to  present  just  a  few  facts 
showing  some  of  the  things  done,  so  that  the  inquirer 
may  have  them  all  in  one  place  to  better  consider  them. 

This  work  has  been  done  by  conducting  experiments 
at  a  number  of  places,  which  ar3  mentioned  in  the  Manual 
but  we  will  here  confine  our  record  to  a  few  where  the  most 
careful  work  was  done. 

First,  was  the  accomplishment  at  the  Pomeroy  model 
farm  at  Hill  City,  Kansas,  far  out  toward  the  Colorado  line. 
This  is  a  locality  which  has  been  regarded  by  many  as  about 
as  unfavorable  as  it  was  possible  to  find.  The  author  of 
the  Manual  conducted  for  Hon.  James  P.  Pomeroy  a  model 
farm,  of  Colorado  Springs,  and  a  great  deal  of  what  has 
been  learned  came  out  of  that  farm.  It  was  started  in 
1900.  As  illustrating  results,  it  can  be  said  that  one  field 
that  had  been  farmed  for  fourteen  years,  and  never  but  one 
crop  cut  in  that  time,  was  summer  tilled  in  1900,  and 
yielded  42 J  bushels  of  wheat  in  1901;  was  summer  tilled 


256  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

again  in  1902,  and  cropped  in  1903-4-5-6,  averaging  in  the 
four  seasons  fully  40  bushels  per  acre.  The  last  crop,  that 
in  1906,  a  very  good  year,  and  the  yield  was  the  largest 
ever  grown  on  the  land. 

THE   BURLINGTON    FARM. 

Second,  and  more  important,  because  conducted  with 
even  greater  care,  was  the  results  from  the  Burlington 
model  farm.  This  is  a  tract  at  Holdrege,  Nebraska.  In 
1905,  for  instance,  wheat  to  the  amount  of  54J  bushels 
and  testing  63  pounds,  was  secured  from  summer  tilled 
lands,  while  other  lands  well  handled  on  the  same  farm 
but  not  summer  tilled,  only  gave  32  bushels  testing  60 
pounds.  In  1906  what  on  summer  tilled  ground  gave  51 J 
bushels  testing  64  pounds.  Wheat  as  a  second  crop  on 
land  summer  tilled  in  1904,  which  yielded  54J  bushels  in 
1905,  yielded  in  1906  49J  bushels  testing  63  pounds. 
Wheat  on  land  well  handled  but  never  summer  tilled 
yielded  28  bushels  testing  60^  pounds.  This  all  showed 
the  marked  effect  of  summer  tilling  on  the  second  year's 
crops. 

Again,  it  was  shown  in  experiments  on  a  farm  in  Hitch- 
cock county,  Nebraska,  in  a  crop  of  1904,  what  could  be 
accomplished.  Here  a  wheat  crop  of  41  bushels  per  acre 
was  obtained  on  ground  properly  handled  under  the 
Campbell  system,  when  90  per  cent  of  over  20,000  acres 
in  the  same  county  was  a  total  failure. 

At  Grainfield,  Kansas,  in  the  same  year,  a  yield  of  56 
bushels  per  acre  was  obtained,  when  many  fields  around 
failed  entirely  because  of  the  drouth  in  1903  which  con- 
tinued up  till  the  spring  of  1904. 

Henry  F.  Kipp  has  had  success  with  the  Campbell  method 
in  Western  Nebraska,  where  in  the  summer  of  1904,  he 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


257 


harvested  from  20  acres  sown  in  winter  wheat  820  bushels 
testing  59  pounds,  or  an  average  of  41  bushels  per  acre. 
This  was  on  land  cultivated  the  previous  year,  when  the 
nearly  eight  months  of  drouth  gave  a  loss  of  90  per  cent 
of  the  wheat  in  the  same  neighborhood. 

COLORADO    RESULTS. 

A  number  of  farmers  in  Eastern  Colorado  made  reports 
on  the  results  of  their  1906  work  in  following  the  Campbell 
method  of  soil  culture  for  wheat,  and  here  is  a  brief  state- 
ment of  the  same:  Charles  Butler,  Calhan,  36  acres,  31 


Sorghum  by  Thorough  Cultivation  on  sod  breaking  in  Eastern 
Colorado. 

bushels;  W.  Syes,  Calhan,  20  acres,  32  bushels;  E.  Loring, 
Yuma,  40  acres,  36  bushels;  George  Owens,  Longmont,  72 
acres,  39  bushels;  E.  A.  Mead,  Ault,  40  acres,  48  bushels; 
E.  P.  House,  Greeley,  53  bushels;  John  F.  Wright,  Long- 
mont, 25  acres,  53  bushels;  William  Callaway,  Wray,  20 


258  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

acres,  62  bushels;  Lee  K.  Klein,  Loveland,  40  acres,  65 
bushels;  In  this  same  vicinity  the  same  season  Bergstron 
Bros.,  of  Longmont,  got  80  bushels  of  barley;  A.  Mead,  of 
Ault,  got  75  bushels  barley;  and  L.  L.  Mulligan,  of  Long- 
mont, got  75  bushels  of  barley.  The  results  show  that 
these  farmers  did  not  follow  the  system  closely  or  perfectly 
but  they  did  get  results  just  in  proportion  to  the  fidelity 
with  which  they  followed  out  the  system. 

Near  Limon,  Col.  W.  S,  Pershing  got  over  300  bushels 
per  acre  of  turnips  which  he  sold  for  75  cents  per  hundred 
weight. 

In  raising  corn  Charles  H.  Lee,  40  feet  from  water, 
raised  30  acres  of  corn  which  gave  50  bushels  to  the  acre, 
and  on  watermelons  he  realized  $150  an  acre.  Henry  Swan 
50  feet  from  sheet  water,  raised  on  40  acres  30  bushels  of 
macaroni  wheat  per  acre,  and  on  50  acres  of  corn  he  got 
50  bushels  per  acre.  B.  Rice,  40  feet  to  water,  got  40 
bushels  per  acre  of  corn  from  a  30-acre  tract. 

Joseph  Emmal,  who  lives  near  Ramah,  Col.,  following 
the  Campbell  sytem,  reported  an  average  of  120  bushels  of 
potatoes;  and  C.  F.  Butler,  near  the  same  place  reports 
that  for  five  years  he  has  averaged  130  bushels  of  potatoes 
per  acre. 

E.  R.  Parsons,  on  an  orchard  near  Parker,  Col.,  made  a 
net  profit  of  $1,345  from  1,000  cherry  trees,  500  plum  trees, 
200  apple  trees  and  1,400  currant  bushes.  All  were  cared 
for  under  the  soil  culture  methods. 

On  the  grounds  of  the  State  Soldiers'  Home  at  Lisbon, 
N.  D.,  in  1897,  on  a  tract  cultivated  for  two  years  under 
the  Campbell  method  the  phenomenal  yield  of  23  tons  of 
sugar  beets  per  acre  was  obtained. 

As  to  what  the  use  of  the  system  has  accomplished  in 
four  counties  of  Colorado  alone,  where  the  farmers  have 
made  more  general  use  of  the  system  than  elsewhere,  the 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  259 

land  department  of  the  Union  Pacific  makes  the  following 
estimate  of  the  wheat  and  corn  acreage  and  crops  in  three 
counties,  the  counties  mentioned  being  Adams,  Arapahoe, 
Lincoln  and  Cheyenne.: 

Wheat.  Corn. 

Year.  Acreage.      Bushels.       Acreage.      Bushels. 

1905 2,000          30,000  5,000        100,000 

1906 12,000        180,000          12,000        300,000 

1907 35,000        525,000         30,000        750,000 

On  the  ranch  of  Kilpatrick  Bros.,  in  Chase  County, 
Neb.,  in  1904,  a  wheat  crop  was  grown  with  30  bushels 
to  the  acre,  whereas  all  round,  because  of  a  seven  months7 
drouth,  there  was  total  failure  of  the  crop. 

On  the  Burlington  farm  in  Nebraska,  228  acres  under 
cultivation  were  handled  in  1904  and  two  subsequent  years 
by  two  men  and  nine  horses,  except  harvest  time;  and  in 
1905  the  net  profit  on  the  farm  was  over  $4,000  or  $11.76 
per  acre  on  the  entire  acreage  of  340  acres  in  crops,  meadow 
and  pasture. 

We  give  these  various  specific  reports  only  as  samples 
of  what  has  been  done;  but  results  have  been  achieved  all 
over  the  states  of  the  semi-arid  region  quite  as  striking. 

ONE    EXAMPLE. 

J.  D.  Clarkson,  writing  from  Greenfield,  Kan.,  tells  of 
the  result  of  work  being  done  there  as  follows: 

"I  was  out  east  of  this  town  looking  over  some  wheat 
fields  and  am  sending  you  two  samples  of  wheat  as  found 
growing  in  the  same  fields  not  ten  feet  apart.  One  of  them 
was  growing  on  ground  cultivated  by  the  Campbell  sys- 
tem for  two  years.  This  is  the  second  crop.  It  yielded 
34  bushels  to  the  acre  the  first  crop.  The  other  sample 
was  taken  from  land  not  over  ten  feet  away  that  has  been 
cultivated  by  the  old  method  of  disking  the  wheat  in  the 


260  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

stalk  ground.  An  exaination  of  the  sample  that  was 
taken  from  the  land  under  the  Campbell  culture  shows  a 
bunch  of  roots  forty  in  number,  ranging  from  two  to  four 
inches  in  length,  each  of  which  is  strong  and  vigorous.  From 
this  bunch  of  roots  have  sprung  eight  stalks  now  ranging 
from  nine  to  twelve  inches  in  length.  This  all  comes  from 
one  grain  of  wheat  that  may  be  seen  just  in  the  center  of 
the  bunch  of  roots.  On  the  land  that  was  disked  in  among 
the  corn  stalks  I  had  to  take  five  bunches  of  roots  to  get 
eight  stalks,  and  the}^  did  not  average  more  than  one-half 
the  size  or  length  of  the  others,  and  the  roots  in  the  five 
bunches  are  not  half  as  much  as  the  others  in  bulk  or 
length.  These  two  samples  of  growing  wheat,  taken  as 
they  were  from  land  otherwise  just  alike  except  in  the 
manner  of  cultivation  and  seeded  about  the  same  time,  is 
a  glaring  example  of  the  value  of  your  experiments  and 
researches  in  the  interests  of  the  f  armmers  in  the  semi-arid 
belt,  and  it  would  be  to  the  financial  interest  of  these  pro- 
pie  if  some  means  could  be  devised  whereby  results  of  your 
years  of  experience  and  experiments  could  be  given  much 
wider  circulation,  especially  for  those  who  are  just  coming 
into  this  section." 

A    KANSAS    EXPERIENCE. 

The  following  letter  written  by  J.  B.  Beal,  chief  land 
examiner  of  the  Union  Tacific  land  department,  to  Land 
Commissioner  Houtz,  at  Omaha,  Aug.  1,  1904,  from  Grain- 
field,  Kas.,  tells  an  interesting  story  of  results: 

"You  wrote  me  on  the  6th  of  May  in  answer  to  a  letter 
I  wrote  you  about  the  field  of  wheat  east  of  Grainfield  that 
we  looked  at  when  you  were  here,  I  thought  I  would  wait 
until  the  wheat  was  harvested  and  thrashed  and  then  give 
you  a  full  synopsis  of  the  matter.  All  of  this  has  taken 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  261 

place.  I  will  commence  at  the  beginning.  This  ground 
was  plowed  good  probably  six  inches  deep  the  first  part 
of  June,  1903;  it  was  sub-packed  and  harrowed  as  soon  as 
the  plowing  was  completed,  then  after  each  rain,  I  think 
a  day  after,  the  ground  was  harrowed  over  and  the  crust 
that  would  have  formed  on  the  ground  when  it  commenced 
to  dry  up  was  pulverized  and  made  fine.  This  tract  of 
land  was  harrowed  I  think  seven  times  between  the  time 
of  packing  after  plowing  in  June  and  the  time  of  seeding, 
which  was  the  19th,  20th  and  21st  days  of  September,  and 
there  was  nothing  more  done  to  this  field  of  wheat  until 
the  harvesting  commenced.  The  cost  of  the  work,  and 
it  was  all  hired  done,  including  the  purchase  of  the  seed 
wheat,  was  $3.25  per  acre;  this  wheat  made  a  fairly  good 
growth  last  fall  and  as  soon  as  the  warm  days  commenced 
to  come  this  spring  this  wheat  began  to  grow  and  you  re- 
member how  it  looked  the  night  we  walked  over  it,  and 
this  was  long  before  we  had  our  first  spring  rain.  It  kept 
on  growing  until  it  was  a  good  height  and  completely  cov- 
ered the  ground  before  we  had  our  first  rain,  looking  all 
the  time  as  fresh  as  a  rose.  The  people  were  watching 
this  wheat  field,  and  as  no  other  wheat  in  the  country  was 
growing  at  all,  they  concluded  one  evening  they  would  fix 
up  a  test  auger  and  go  over  there  and  test  the  depth  of 
moisture  in  the  ground.  They  found  it  upon  their  in- 
vestigation nice  and  moist  five  feet  down,  and  of  course 
this  is  the  sequel  of  the  whole  matter.  All  of  this  moisture 
fell  on  the  ground  last  summer  after  the  plowing  was  done 
and  retained  there  by  this  system  of  harrowing  the  ground 
after  each  rain,  keeping  the  ground  fine  and  loose  on  top. 
11  We  find  by  the  Campbell  System  that  we  can  as  well 
keep  the  moisture  in  the  ground  as  to  put  it  in  a  jug  and 
put  in  a  cork.  This  wheat  field  has  been  looked  at  by 


262  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

many  people  this  summer.  The  ground  has  been  carefully 
measured  and  found  to  contain  a  trifle  less  than  38  acres. 

"It  took  five  pounds  of  twine  to  bind  each  acre,  and 
with  the  black  rust  that  struck  the  wheat,  the  same  as  all 
other  fields  in  this  country,  this  wheat  yielded  a  little  over 
35  bushels  per  acre  and  weighed  60  pounds  per  bushel. 
The  people  that  know  most  about  wheat  in  this  country 
say  that  the  rust  damaged  this  field  of  wheat  not  less  than 
20  bushels  per  acre,  and  my  honest  belief  that  if  the  rust 
had  not  affected  it  it  would  have  made  60  bushels  per  acre. 

"The  wheat  sold  for  $22.50  per  acre,  less  the  cost  of 
planting  it  and  placing  it  upon  the  market,  which  was  $6.50 
per  acre,  leaving  a  net  profit  of  $16.00  per  acre.  I  think 
this  a  fair  margin  for  $5.00  land," 


SOU,   CULTURE    MANUAL  263 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


KILLING  OF  AUTUMN  SOWN  GRAIN. 

The  question  of  winter  killing  of  autumn  sown  grain 
in  the  semi-arid  belt  is  one  that  called  forth  much  dis- 
cussion along  in  the  nineties,  but  of  recent  years  we  hear 
but  little  except  an  occasional  comment  in  a  severe  cold 
period  during  the  winter  months,  when  the  fields  are  bare. 
This  fact  is  largely  due  to  better  fitting  of  the  soil  bed  by 
the  farmers  generally. 

Few  people  realize  just  why  autumn  sown  grain  winter 
kills.  Years  of  careful  observation  have  proven  conclu- 
sively that  it  is  invariably  due  to  a  loose  seed  and  root 
bed  and  little  moisture.  We  have  never  seen  any  apparent 
signs  of  winter  killing  on  any  part  of  a  field  that  had  been 
summer  tilled  except  where  water  had  stood  for  some 
length  of  time  and  frozen. 

In  the  autum  of  1898  a  great  portion  of  Kansas  and 
Nebraska  had  very  little  rain,  in  short  but  little  rain  fell 
after  the  middle  of  August,  except  in  the  extreme  eastern 
part  of  the  two  states,  therefore  a  large  amount  of  fall 
wheat  was  sown  in  soil  plowed  and  fitted  rather  dry.  Rain 
was  sufficient  to  germinate  most  fields  of  wheat,  but  the 
winter  was  open  with  frequent  freezes,  and  when  spring 
came  much  wheat  was  found  to  be  dead.  The  writer  was 
asked  to  investigate  and  gave  much  time  to  the  question. 
Over  a  considerable  scope  of  the  country  we  found  the  fol- 
lowing facts  and  conditions  to  be  uniformly  true. 

Through  the  major  part  of  all  fields,  the  wheat  was 


264 

badly  damaged.  Wherever  we  noted  a  horse  foot  track 
the  wheat  in  or  at  the  edge  was  invariably  green.  Where 
we  found  fields  plowed  round  the  field,  at  the  corners 
where  the  horses  had  tramped  the  portion  in  turning,  we 
also  found  green  wheat.  This  was  especially  true  in  one 
field  in  Northwest  Kansas,  where  the  farmer  had  harrowed 
his  field  thoroughly  after  plowing  as  above  mentioned  and 
before  seeding.  Other  marked  contrasts  were  shown  in  the 
dead  furrows  and  the  back  furrows.  In  the  latter  the 
wheat  was  almost  invariably  found  dead  entirely,  while 
along  the  edge  of  the  former  we  found  good  stands  of  green 
wheat.  These  observations  together  with  many  others  led 
us  to  one  conclusion,  viz.;  that  winter  killing  of  all  autumn 
sown  grain  would  never  be  known,  if  the  following  prin- 
ciples were  carefully  observed: 

1.  Conservation  of  soil  moisture. 

2.  Plowing  of  fields  only  when  moist. 

3.  The  use  of  the  sub-surface  packer  well  weighted  at 
the  proper  time. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  put  too  much  stress  upon 
these  three  requisites,  especially  is  it  true  with  reference 
to  the  packer;  its  work  is  most  vital  for  the  development 
and  support  of  strong  and  healthy  plants. 

We  would  also  call  attention  to  some  very  strong  cor- 
roborating evidence  in  the  quotation  from  Bulletin  No.  52, 
issued  by  the  Agricultural  Experimental  Station  of  Illinois 
in  1898  referred  to  at  length  under  tree  growing,  the  sum 
of  which  was  that  fruit  trees  winter  killed  frequently  in 
early  fruit  growing  in  Illinois,  and  it  was  finally  agreed 
that  soil  and  climatic  conditions  were  not  favorable  for 
fruit  growing,  especially  apples.  After  the  Agricultural 
College  began  to  take  notes  it  soon  became  evident  that 
the  trouble  all  came  from  trees  going  into  the  winter  with 


CAMPBELL'S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL  265 

little  or  no  moisture  about  the  roots,  since  which  time 
there  has  been  no  trouble  whatever,  and  the  same  sections 
have  proven  to  be  great  apple  producing  localities,  by 
simply  handling  the  soil  just  a  little  differently. 

Few  farmers  in  the  central  west  today  would  think  of 
handling  their  soil  as  was  commonly  done  only  eight  or 
ten  years  ago,  and  yet  they  are  only  just  beginning  to  grasp 
the  fundamental  principles,  all  of  which  mean  dollars,  hap- 
piness and  greater  prosperity  to  them. 


266  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


STOOLING  OF  GRAIN. 

The  real  cause  of  small  grain  stooling  is  not  a  question 
well  understood  by  the  average  tiller  of  the  soil,  and  yet 
it  is  a  subject  that  if  well  understood  would  pave  the  way 
to  the  comprehension  of  other  even  more  puzzling  and  yet 
most  important  subjects.  The  simple  fact  that  the  farmer 
has  not  understood  this  question  has  led  him  to  do  things 
that  has  cost  him  money  as  well  as  bring  an  actual  detri- 
ment to  his  crop.  To  understand  these  principles  is  to 
explain  and  make  clear  why  the  farmer  should  be  so  very 
careful  to  carry  out  many  of  the  principles  laid  down  under 
the  chapters  on  Plowing,  Sub-Packing  and  Summer  Cul- 
ture. 

To  more  clearly  explain  this  phenomenon  we  call  your 
attention  to  Cut  No.  24,  where  we  show  the  two  condi- 
tions, one  of  which  promotes  stooling  the  other  does  not. 
At  the  left  is  the  more  common  condition  of  the  soil  in  the 
average  western  field.  This  represents  soil  that  has  not 
been  packed  and  has  been  plowed  when  in  fair  conditiou 
and  harrowed.  The  root  system  here  is  not  large  because 
soil  of  this  nature  does  not  carry  a  large  amount  of  moisture, 
on  the  other  hand  it  carries  large  quantities  of  air.  This 
unbalanced  condition  brings  about  slow  chemical  action 
which  liberates  small  quantities  of  plant  elements  or  fer- 
tility, consequently  the  development  of  roots  is  but  little 
in  excess  of  what  the  first  and  original  main  stalk  can  take 
care  of,  consequently  little  or  no  stooling  has  taken  place. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  267 

Theory  among  many  of  the  early  farmers  had  it  that 
a  period  of  cool  days  was  necessary  for  stooling,  therefore 
when  this  period  came  it  was  as  a  rule  hailed  with  joy. 
This  is  what  we  should  call  stooling  under  forced  condi- 
tions, such  as  would  not  result  in  well  filled  heads  from 
the  increased  stools. 

It  is  true  that  a  cool  period  after  the  soil  has  warmed 
up  in  the  spring  and  growth  of  the  young  plant  commenced 
will  cause  stooling,  but  why?  Because  the  rootlets  are 
gathering  in  the  moisture  laden  with  plant  elements  and 
starting  it  on  its  way  to  light  and  sunshine,  when  the  at- 
mosphere cools  to  that  degree  that  there  is  no  evaporation 
for  the  leaf,  the  movement  up  the  main  stalk  ceases. 

CAUSE    OF    STOOLING. 

The  moisture  and  plant  elements  being  gathered  in  by 
the  little  hair  roots  or  feeders  must  materialize  somewhere, 
consequetnly  the  additional  stooling  or  increased  number 
of  suckers  or  stalks.  Now  these  little  new  shoots  soon  be- 
come full  fledged  stalks.  The  consequence  is  an  increased 
leaf  surface,  and  when  the  clear,  warm,  sunny  weather 
comes  on  and  the  leaves  are  fanned  by  the  warm  southern 
breezes  evaporation  from  the  leaf  surface  is  greatly  in- 
creased, and  each  warm  period  as  the  leaves  increase  in 
size  and  number  brings  a  greater  demand  on  the  roots 
for  moisture.  Under  the  soil  conditions  shown  on  the  left, 
the  time  is  sure  to  come  when  the  requisite  amount  of  mois- 
ture cannot  be  supplied,  and  when  this  time  comes  we  have 
a  condition  quite  similar  to  the  oil  lamp  when  the  oil  has 
been  all  taken  out  of  the  bowl  by  the  burning  blaze  at 
the  top  of  the  wick.  Steadily  the  soil  becomes  drier  like 
the  wick  and  finally  these  stools  begin  to  die  off.  When 
this  period  is  reached  the  real  damage  to  the  final  crop  is 


268 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


measured  largely  by  the  stage  of  growth  of  the  plant.  If 
at  the  beginning  of  the  farming  point  the  head  in  the  ori- 
ginal or  parent  stalk  will  be  smaller;  if  at  the  kernel  form- 
ing period,  the  less  kernel,  etc. 

The  point  we  wish  to  convey  is  the  fact  that  coarse, 
loose  soils  as  shown  in  the  cut  at  the  left  will  not  permit 


A.  B. 

Gut  No.  24.     Growth  and  stooling  of  grain,     (a)  Growth  in  loose 

unpacked  soil,     (b)  Growth  and  stooling  of 

wheat  in  ideal  soil  conditions, 

of  a  perfect  root  system,  and  will  not  carry  to  exceed  one- 
fifth  to  one  -tenth  the  amount  of  moisture  (see  cut  No.  10); 
also  that  moisture  will  not  move  by  capillary  attraction 
more  than  one-fourth  to  one-eighth  as  fast  in  such  soil 
consequently  crops  under  this  most  common  condition  in 
the  past,  during  a  prolonged  drouth,  had  to  suffer  severely 
or  perish  entirely. 

THE    SCIENTIFIC    CONDITION. 

At  the  right  end  of  cut  No.  24  we  have  the  ideal  condi- 
tion.    As  shown  in  cut  No.  16  the  lower  portion  of  the  fur- 


239 

row  has  been  made  fine  and  firm.  The  seed  has  been  de- 
posited in  the  little  V-shaped  crevice  where  germination 
is  rapid  and  the  little  rootlets  almost  immediately  begin 
to  meander  about  in  all  directions,  sending  out  numerous 
little  feeders  to  gather  in  moisture  and  plant  elements. 
By  this  rapid  development  of  roots,  each  doing  its  part  as 
nature  intended,  the  moisture  and  plant  elements  are  gath- 
ered in  so  rapidly  that  the  little  lone  stalk  cannot  take  care 
of  it  all.  This  plant  element  must  be  utilized  in  some 
manner  and  out  comes  another  tiny  stalk,  then  another, 
and  so  nature 'a  desire  for  life  and  growth  goes  on  in  its 
active  work  until  ten,  twenty,  fifty  and  we  have  seen  even 
one  hundred  and  two  perfect  stalks  with  wheat  bearing 
heads  grown  from  one  kernel. 

This  very  marked  stooling  will  take  place  very  largely 
in  proportion  to  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  and  the 
amount  of  available  fertility.  For  example  a  piece  of  sand 
loam  prairie  with  a  clay  sub-soil  such  as  is  found,  as  a  rule, 
in  the  great  semi-arid  belt  that  has  been  cropped  one  or 
more  times,  then  summer  tilled  carefully  as  explained  in 
Chapters  8,  9,  and  10,  you  will  have  a  condition  that  will 
not  permit  of  sowing  over  twenty  pounds  of  winter  wheat 
or  twenty-five  pounds  of  spring  wheat,  and  if  the  work  has 
been  well  done  and  in  the  more  arid  portion  of  the  semi- 
arid  sections,  not  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  above 
amount  should  be  shown. 

Stools  developed  under  these  conditions  are  very  much 
more  likely  to  carry  through  and  mature. 


270  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


QUANTITY  OF  SEED. 

What  the  necessary  amount  of  seed  per  acre  is,  is  a 
question  somewhat  complex,  as  there  are  many  little  de- 
tails some  of  which  have  much  to  do  with  the  quantity 
of  seed  and  the  final  crop  result.  Therefore,  we  find  it 
entirely  out  of  the  question  to  outline  imperative  rules  for 
the  real  or  necessary  quantity  of  seed. 

We  well  remember  a  book  published  about  twenty-five 
years  ago  which  had  a  table  giving  the  required  amount 
of  seed  for  the  different  farm  crops.  As  we  now  under- 
stand soil  physics/  soil  fertility  and  the  moisture  question, 
this  table  seems  not  only  very  inconsistent,  but  ridiculous. 
For  example  it  says  "75  to  90  pounds  of  winter  wheat  per 
acre  on  good  rich  soil."  To  cover  practically  what  was 
meant  by  the  language  we  would  now  say  that  on  good 
soil  scientifically  fitted  from  15  to  20  pounds  of  winter 
wheat,  and  if  more  was  sown,  the  chances  would  be  very 
much  in  favor  of  less  yield  of  grain  and  a  poorer  quality 

On  the  Burlington  Model  Farm  in  the  autumn  of  1904 
a  piece  of  summer  tilled  land  was  by  mistake  seeded  with 
thirty  pounds  of  seed,  and  the  result  was  straw  and  heads 
enough  for  seventy  bushels  per  acre,  but  it  was  so  thick 
that  the  straw  became  weak  and  more  or  less  of  the  entire 
field  went  down.  The  yield  was  only  46J  bushels  per  acre, 
the  grain  testing  only  58  pounds.  The  stubble  was  so 
thick,  long  and  more  or  less  matted  that  we  were  obliged 
to  burn  it  off  to  plow.  This  same  field  was  seeded  again 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  271 

to  wheat  in  the  autumn  of  1905,  and  anticipating  less 
available  fertility  we  sowed  twenty-two  pounds  of  seed 
and  the  1906  yield  was  49J  bushels  per  acre,  testing  63 
pounds  per  bushel.  Several  similar  instances  have  been 
observed  with  like  results,  showing  conclusively  that  we 
must  gauge  the  quantity  of  all  kinds  of  seeds  per  acre  by 
the  physical  condition  of  the  soil.  The  more  ideally  per- 
fect the  soil  is  fitted,  the  greater  is  the  amount  of  available 
fertility,  consequently  the  less  seed  is  required  by  nature 
for  the  best  results.  As  a  rule  summer  tilled  fields  that 
are  scientifically  handled  require  about  one-third  the  amount 
of  wheat,  oats  or  barley  that  has  been  commonly  sowed  by 
the  farmer,  but  careful  observation  in  testing  fields  only 
can  give  the  farmer  the  correct  idea  as  to  the  proper  quan- 
tity for  certain  conditions. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  with  coarse  plump  seed 
slightly  more  is  required;  on  the  other  hand  fine,  somewhat 
shrunken  seeds  with  a  healthy  germ  require  less ;  also  that 
early  seeding  requires  slightly  less  seed  than  late  planting. 
Keep  in  mind  that  the  proper  quantity  of  seed  with  thor- 
oughly fitted  fields  gives  the  highest  yield,  that  above  or 
below  this  ideal  quantity  will  diminish  the  yield.  The  rule 
today  is  too  much  seed  per  acre;  the  quantity  as  well  as  the 
quality  is  frequently  less  from  over  seeding. 

For  well  fitted  summer  tilled  fields  the  following  quan- 
tity of  good  seeds  is  most  desirable  when  the  seeding  is  done 
sufficiently  early:  Winter  wheat,  18  to  20  pounds;  spring 
wheat,  22  to  25  pounds;  oats,  20  to  25  pounds;  barley,  35 
to  40  pounds  per  acre. 

Corn  to  do  best  in  the  more  arid  sections  should  never 
carry  more  than  two  kernels  to  the  hill.  Potatoes  should 
be  planted  early  with  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  less 
seed  than  is  commonly  planted  in  the  more  humid  sections. 


272  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

The  main  points  to  keep  in  mind  are:  First  and  above 
all  things,  as  nearly  as  may  be  possible  a  perfect  physical 
condition  of  the  soil  backed  by  ample  stored  water  below; 
the  good  seed  carefully  selected,  followed  by  good  judg- 
ment at  seed  time  to  see  that  the  quantity  of  seed  con- 
forms to  soil  conditions,  the  careful  after  culture  together 
with  not  only  an  ambition  but  an  effort  each  season  to  ex- 
cell  the  previous  crop.  Remember  that  the  average  crop 
is  not  one-thirci  of  the  possible  yield  of  our  soils. 


273 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


THE  INEVITABLE  DRY  SEASONS. 

The  seasons  change  and  the  favors  of  nature  are  given 
or  withheld  by  the  operation  of  laws  or  influences  of  which 
we  know  little.  No  man  can  know  just  when  the  storm 
will  come  or  when  the  drouth  will  follow.  But  we  do  know 
that,  in  a  general  way,  long  periods  of  abundance  of  rain 
are  likely  to  be  followed  by  periods  of  drouth,  and  for  this 
we  must  always  be  prepared. 

We  clip  a  fugative  item  from  the  daily  newspapers  in 
March,  1907,  as  below,  in  which  Prof.  Willis  L.  Moore, 
chief  of  the  United  States  weather  bureau  at  Washington, 
is  quoted  as  giving  warning  of  a  drouth  in  the  western 
country.  We  give  it  not  so  much  that  this  prediction  has 
value  or  causes  surprise,  but  for  reasons  which  are  indi- 
cated later.  The  item  is: 

"Prof.  Moore  predicts  that  the  country  is  due  for  a  long 
period  of  drouth.  The  present  long  period  of  abundant 
rainfall  over  the  great  cereal  plains,  about  six  years,  is  the 
longest  of  which  the  weather  bureau  has  any  records 
Prof.  Moore  is  certain  that  there  will  be  a  shortage  in  rain- 
fall soon  equal  to  amount  to  the  excess  during  the  last  six 
years.  This  is  based  on  the  records  of  the  bureau,  which 
show  that  the  average  rainfall  during  the  first  ten  years  of 
a  period  of  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  years  is  precisely  the  same 
us  the  average  of  the  last  ten.  Many  persons  write  to  the 
bureau,  saying  that  they  have  been  advised  to  buy  land  in 
a  region  formerly  classed  as  arid.  It  is  offered  for  sale  to 


274  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

them  on  the  ground  that  there  has  been  a  permanent 
change  in  the  climate.  Invariable  Prof.  Moore  answers 
that  the  climate  has  not  changed.  Prof.  Moore  points  out 
that  the  country  does  not  need  as  much  rain  as  it  did 
formerly  to  make  the  land  productive.  The  virgin  soil  is 
being  broken  up  and  the  trees  are  being  planted.  While 
this  does  not  increase  the  rainfall,  as  is  sometimes  stated, 
it  makes  the  same  amount  more  efficient  and  more  profit- 
able, because  the  soil  is  broken  up  and  there  will  not  be  so 
much  evaporation,  the  ground  absorbing  it  more  thor- 
oughly." 

The  warning  should  be  taken  to  heart  by  everyone,  not 
with  fear  and  forebodings,  but  with  redoubled  effort  to 
solve  and  solve  correctly  and  finally  the  problem  of  how  to 
meet  just  such  conditions  as  are  predicted  without  danger 
of  crop  losses. 

It  is  worth  while  to  point  out  that  if  there  are  persons 
who  are  urging  others  to  begin  farming  in  the  semi-arid 
or  arid  regions  on  .the  claim  of  there  having  been  any  per- 
manent change  in  the -climate  they  are  the  worst  possible 
enemies  of  those  whom  they  would  dupe,  as  well  as  of  the 
country  they  seek  to  populate.  There  is  no  reason  to  be- 
lieve there  will  be  any  material  difference  between  the 
climate  of  the  Twentieth  century  and  that  of  the  Nine- 
teenth. 

But  Prof.  Moore  does  recognize,  as  many  others  have 
that  conditions  are  changing  in  the  semi-arid  country  and 
that  better  results  are  being  obtained.  Naturally  he  looks 
about  for  a  cause  and  an  explanation.  He  gives  that 
which  comes  most  readily  to  hand.  It  is  true  there  is  no 
increase  in  rainfall — averaging  up  one  year  with  another 
— and  it  is  true  there  is  an  increase  of  moisture  available 
for  the  use  of  the  plants.  It  is  hardly  fair,  however,  to 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  275 

attribute  this  merely  to  the  fact  that  "the  soil  is  broken 
up,"  unless  it  is  intended  by  that  phrase  to  include  a  good 
deal  more,  and  to  convey  the  idea  that  not  only  is  the  soil 
broken  up,  but  that  the  farmers  have  been  intelligently 
applying  improved  methods  of  cultivation  with  special 
view  to  meeting  the  adverse  conditions  which  they  find 
all  about  them.  With  this  modification  the  hint  of  explan- 
ation, which  may  not  be  exactly  as  Prof.  Moore  himself 
would  put  it,  is  all  right. 

That  the  semi-arid  regions  are  better  prepared  now  to 
fight  the  drouth  and  to  stand  independent  of  the  varying 
fortunes  of  the  weather,  is  certainly  true.  Yet  much 
more  can  and  must  be  done  in  the  way  of  spreading  the 
knowledge  among  the  new  farmers  of  the  new  west. 


276  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


THE  DOMAIN  OF  SOIL  CULTURE. 

- 

Who  shall  bound  the  domain  in  which  scientific  soil 
culture  is  destined  to  be  in  fact  a  redeemer?  It  is  a  new 
thing,  but  many  there  are  who  inquire  anxiously  as  to  its 
limits.  But  no  man  can  yet  tell.  It  surely  is  far  reaching 

One  thing  is  certain,  scientific  soil  culture  is  not  a  sys- 
tem adapted  solely  to  farming  in  the  dry  regions,  but  it  is 
a  system  useful  also  to  the  farmer  who  may  have  in  most 
years  an  abundance  of  water.  Let  it  be  remembered,  and 
this  is  something  within  the  knowledge  of  all,  that  there 
are  very  few  places  anywhere  on  the  globe  entirely  free 
from  the  danger  of  disaster  to  crops  by  reason  of  waste  of 
the  water.  The  farmer,  no  matter  where  he  lives,  is  indeed 
rare  who  has  never  seen  his  crops  wither  and  decline  dur- 
ing a  drouthy  period  for  want  of  perhaps  a  small  amount 
of  moisture  at  the  critical  period  of  growth. 

But  there  are  regions  where  it  is  indispensible,  where 
irrigation  is  impossible,  and  the  plan  of  adopting  desert 
plants  has  not  been  made  a  success.  This  area  is  large. 

Like  other  useful  things  in  the  world,  scientific  soil 
culture  is  a  child  of  necessity.  The  system  was  developed 
in  adversity.  Failure  was  its  inspiration.  There  is  an  ir- 
regular and  variable  line  running  through  the  Dakotas, 
Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma  and  Texas,  which  has  long 
been  supposed  to  mark  the  extreme  limit  of  profitable  soil 
tillage  for  ordinary  crops.  It  was  on  the  border  line  of  the 
farming  regions,  right  where  they  merge  into  the  broad  acres 


CAMPBELL'S  fc-oiL  CULTURE  MANUAL  277 

of  grazing  land,  that  this  system  of  eliminating  the  imagin- 
ary boundary  line  was  developed  under  our  own  guidance. 
Under  the  old  system  there  was  the  long  series  of  alternat- 
ing successes  and  failures,  resulting  in  an  impoverished  land 
and  heart  broken  men  and  women,  for  the  failures  were 
more  numerous  than  the  successes.  Here  was  the  birth  of 
scientific  soil  culture,  and  here  it  has  had  its  first  and  great- 
est victories. 

But  a  great  deal  has  actually  been  done  in  at  least  a 
dozen  good  states.  In  eastern  Colorado  splendid  results 
have  been  achieved  by  application  of  the  principles,  often 
imperfectly  it  is  true,  yet  sufficient  to  produce  good  results. 
In  western  Kansas  and  western  Nebraska  the  triumphs 
have  been  great.  Something  has  been  accomplished  in 
northern  Texas,  and  in  Oklahoma  and  New  Mexico  near 
by.  In  Wyoming  and  in  Montana,  in  many  rich  valleys 
and  uplands,  the  good  work  is  going  on.  In  all  these  states 
individual  experimenters  are  accomplishing  good  results. 
These  are  mostly  homesteaders  and  those  who  have  pur- 
chased railroad  lands.  Thousands  of  our  1902  and  1905 
manuals  have  found  their  way  into  the  hands  of  men  who 
are  tilling  the  soil  in  these  states.  They  make  use  of  the 
ideas  they  have  gathered  there,  and  in  due  time  they  will 
come  into  the  full  fruition  of  their  labor  and  studies. 

But  the  call  is  also  for  more  detailed  information  and 
from  further  west.  Out  on  the  plains  of  eastern  Oregon 
enterprising  and  courageous  men  have  taken  up  the  sys- 
tem and  are  working  it  out  with  results  that  are  astonish- 
ing to  their  neighbors.  In  Washington  and  California  in- 
terest is  being  taken  in  the  subject.  We  have  lectured  in 
many  states  and  explained  the  system  and  are  having  calls 
to  go  to  many  of  these  states  for  furthei  work. 

But  the  system  is  of  value  also  in  the  more  favored 


278  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

regions  of  the  Mississippi  valley  and  along  the  coasts  of 
lakes  and  oceans  where  there  is  abundance  of  water,  but 
where  distribution  is  not  always  what  it  should  be.  Farm- 
ers in  these  regions  are  making  use  of  the  principles  enun- 
ciated to  enable  them  the  better  to  increase  their  yields 
and  to  make  doubly  sure  of  good  crops. 

Within  the  past  year  we  have  been  visited  by  men  from 
South  Africa,  with  a  view  to  having  our  system  tried  there. 
Letters  and  inquiries  have  come  from  Porto  Rico,  Aus- 
tralia, Mexico,  Canada  and  elsewhere,  indicating  that  there 
is  demand  for  knowledge  concerning  the  system  all  over 
the  world. 

The  soil  culture  empire  has  no  limits.  The  system  is 
useful  on  every  farm.  It  reaches  over  "oceans  and  moun- 
tains. Over  vast  areas  the  principles  are  triumphing  over 
the  perverseness  of  nature.  And  some  day  this  soil  culture 
empire  will  be  the  garden  spot  of  the  earth, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  279 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


PROGRESS  IN  AGRICULTURAL  SCIENCE. 

A  great  deal  is  being  written  for  the  books,  magazines 
and  newspapers  about  the  wonderful  things  that  are  being 
done  in  all  industrial  lines  for  the  advancement  of  the  hu- 
man race.  It  is  era  of  achievement.  Men  do  things.  And 
as  a  result  the  sum  total  of  human  happiness  is  promoted 
with  much  rapidity. 

We  all  feel  that  the  natural  trend  of  things  in  the  open- 
ing decade  indicates  that  the  Twentieth  century  is  to  mark 
an  advancement  in  all  material  things  that  go  to  give  com- 
fort to  mankind  far  in  advance  of  the  splendid  record  of 
the  Nineteenth  or  any  previous  century.  The  passion  is 
for  progress,  for  the  new  things,  for  the  better  things,  for 
the  more  perfect  organization  and  accomplishment. 

Yet  it  is  all  too  true  that  man  is  naturally  conservative 
and  is  prone  to  cling  tenaciously  to  the  good  old  things. 
He  changes  only  under  stress  of  necessity.  That  which  is 
new  must  demonstrate  its  right  to  existence.  It  is  ever- 
lastingly true  now  as  it  has  always  been  in  the  past  that 
conservatism  stands  in  the  way  of  progress.  Inventors 
and  discoverers  have  had  to  meet  and  overcome  conser- 
vatism with  its  strong  backing  of  prejudice.  One  such 
was  compelled  to  go  to  prison  because  he  declared  his  be- 
lief that  the  world  was  round.  Another  struggled  for  years 
to  get  a  hearing  in  his  project  of  demonstrating  that  he 
could  cross  the  ocean  and  reach  the  Indies  by  apparently 
going  away  from  them,  An  inventor  who  devised  a  ma- 


280  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

chine  to  sew  mechanically  was  denounced  as  having  sought 
to  take  from  the  seamstresses  their  means  of  earning  a 
living.  Wise  railroad  owners  laughed  at  the  young  man 
who  first  proposed  a  plan  for  stopping  railroad  trains  with 
air.  Men  who  have  taken  the  advance  step  in  discovery 
or  invention,  in  all  science  and  knowledge,  have  won  their 
way  over  ignorance  and  prejudice.  Sometimes  it  has  been 
necessary  to  overcome  the  inertia  of  error  as  it  lies  en- 
trenched behind  years  of  wrong  teaching.  Of  course  the 
truth  prevails  in  the  end;  but  to  very  many  of  those  to 
whom  it  has  been  given  to  be  leaders  in  special  lines  it  has 
seemed  like  long  waiting  for  the  victory. 

If  there  is  progress  in  industry  generally  there  is  also 
progress  in  all  forms  of  industry  that  relate  to  farming. 
And  if  this  progress  in  most  things  is  accomplished  spite 
of  prejudice  it  holds  true  as  to  agriculture.  Scientific  cul- 
ture of  the  soil  is  a  step  forward;  but  it  has  had  to  make 
its  opposition.  It  has  proved  its  worth  on  the  great  prai- 
ries of  the  west  that  have  been  given  a  bad  name  by  the 
early  travelers  and  investigators.  They  got  a  wrong  idea 
and  passed  it  on  to  others.  From  their  ox-train  wagons 
they  looked  out  upon  what  seemed  to  them  a  dreary  waste 
of  more  than  half  desert  land.  They  had  left  the  trees 
and  the  wood-bordered  meadows  behind,  and  they  sent 
back  word  that  between  the  valleys  and  the  mountains 
was  a  trackless  plain  fit  only  for  wild  and  roving  bands 
of  buffalos.  It  was  advertised  that  these  vast  regions  were 
uninhabitable. 

But  later  came  the  trans-continental  railroads  to  con- 
nect the  oceans.  Travelers  whose  investigations  were  made 
from  the  windows  of  swiftly  speeding  cars  told  only  of  the 
sandy  plains.  They  did  not  stop  to  consider  that  perhaps 
here  was  a  country  where  Nature  had  left  it  for  man  to 
solve  a  few  problems  by  study  and  application.  It  would 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  281 

never  do  to  make  the  whole  face  of  the  earth  ji  Garden  of 
Eden,  where  man  had  only  to  gather  the  fruit  and  eat. 

And  so  to  the  natural  conservatism  of  man  in  regard  to 
all  things  was  added  the  wrong  teachings  as  to  the  charac- 
ter of  the  vast  semi-arid  regions,  and  this  in  time  engen- 
dered deep-seated  prejudices,  which  it  will  take  many  years 
to  remove.  Then,  again,  there  have  been  years  of  study 
of  agriculture  following  the  lines  of  the  forefathers,  and 
adapting  the  study  to  conditions  that  generally  prevail 
where  agriculture  is  most  favored.  Here  again  is  created 
prejudice  against  anything  new  or  different. 

Scientific  soil  culture  has  been  under  the  necessity  of 
making  a  place  for  itself  despite  prejudice.  It  has  been 
necessary  to  not  only  show  that  this  method  is  right,  but 
also  that  old  methods  are  wrong. 

Agricultural  science  is  making  as  great  progress  as  any 
other  branch  of  human  activity.  The  prejudices  of  the 
past  are  being  broken  down  rapidly.  Men  are  thinking 
about  the  matter  and  thinking  differently  from  what  they 
were.  One  cannot  make  much  progress  without  getting 
into  a  new  way  of  thinking.  Scientific  soil  culture  involves 
this  very  thing,  for  he  who  succeeds  at  it  must  do  very 
much  original  thinking  that  he  may  work  out  the  little 
problems  which  no  man  can  foresee.  If  the  farmer  who 
approaches  the  subject  in  the  right  spirit  becomes  filled 
with  the  true  principle  he  will  invariably  reason  along  the 
right  lines  and  come  out  right.  Its  methods  do  not  in- 
volve new  machinery,  and  in  some  things  the  methods  are 
but  variations  of  those  in  common  use,  but  it  does  involve 
a  new  way  of  thinking,  which  is  the  foundation  of  the 
science. 

So  soon  as  prejudice  is  wholly  put  away  then  will  prog- 
ress in  agricultural  science  be  on  a  par  with  that  in  other 
more  advanced  lines. 


282  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


CROPS,  MARKETS,  PRICES. 

The  farmer  not  only  wants  big  crops  but  it  is  his  desire 
to  get  the  best  price  for  the  same.  That  which  the  crop 
brings,  directly  or  indirectly,  is  the  prime  object  to  be  ever 
kept  in  mind. 

There  are  a  good  many  elements  entering  into  the  price 
question  and  men  may  easily  make  serious  mistakes.  Of 
course  there  may  be  at  any  time  in  almost  any  community 
some  advantage  gained  by  taking  advantage  of  temporary 
or  local  conditions;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
price  of  agricultural  products  is  generally  more  unchang- 
ing through  a  long  series  of  years  than  of  any  other  class 
of  commodities.  Statistics  have  been  kept  by  the  com- 
mercial associations,  including  the  price  of  agricultural  pro- 
ducts as  well  as  of  other  things,  and  compilation  from  these 
shows  that  the  fluctuation  in  average  value  of  farm  pro- 
ducts from  year  to  year  and  from  decade  to  decade  has 
not  been  great.  It  is  gratifying  that  there  has  been  a 
tendency  for  many  years  to  a  slight  average  increase  in 
value. 

The  theory  that  all  would  be  lovely  with  the  farmers 
if  they  could  only  form  a  trust  or  combine  and  artificially 
limit  the  production  of  farm  staples  so  as  to  force  prices 
up,  or  to  hold  grain  and  produce  so  that  the  marketing 
could  be  done  with  special  reference  to  holding  up  the 
price,  has  little  to  support  it.  The  notion  is  equally  wrong 
that  the  farmer  who  manages  to  have  a  good  crop  when 


CAMPBELL'S   SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL  283 

all  his  neighbors  have  none,  or  that  assumes  that  crop 
failure  somewhere  must  be  necessary  to  good  prices  at 
some  other  place. 

The  ideal  conditon  is  that  of  having  good  crops  every 
year  and  in  all  places.  You  can  gain  no  permanent  and 
enduring  advantage  by  the  misfortune  of  your  neighbors. 

What  is  it  that  demoralizes  prices  and  brings  distress 
to  farming  and  other  industries?  Not  over-production, 
but  lack  of  production.  The  poor  crops  your  neighbor 
has  will  cause  you  to  suffer  in  the  end. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  we  shall  never  know  a 
time  when  production  will  outrun  demand  and  the  markets 
of  the  world  will  be  glutted.  This  might  happen  with  one 
or  two  things,  but  not  with  things  in  general.  More  and 
more  it  is  going  to  tax  the  ingenuity  of  man  to  provide  for 
his  own  necessities  and  desires.  The  area  of  land  available 
for  agricultural  purposes  is  limited  and  it  will  be  nearly 
all  made  use  of  in  some  way  in  the  very  near  future.  The 
problem  must  ever  be  that  of  how  to  so  increase  production 
that  there  will  be  competence  for  all,  then  how  to  distribute 
this  throughout  the  world. 

But  under  present  conditions,  with  commercial  war  a 
perpetual  thing,  encouraged  and  guarded  and  supplied  with 
weapons  by  our  governments,  there  is  a  scramble  for  mark- 
ets. We  of  America  set  out  to  corral  a  desirable  market 
for  a  certain  line  of  goods,  especially  farm  products,  and 
have  it  well  in  hand  when  there  comes  a  season  when  we 
cannot  supply  the  demand,  as  was  the  case  in  the  early 
'90's,  and  immediately  others  step  in  and  take  possession 
of  the  field.  Then  when  we  are  ready  to  again  furnish  our 
To  iiner  customers  with  what  they  want  we  find  that  they 
IK,  re  made  arrangements  elsewhere  that  are  satisfactory 
in  them.  Right  there  the  evil  effect  of  poor  markets  is 


284  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

felt,  not  by  those  who  lost  at  once  but  by  all  who  are  en- 
gaged in  production.  A  market  once  lost  by  demoraliza- 
tion is  hard  to  get  back  again. 

But  in  another  way  poor  crops  in  a  part  of  the  area  of 
production  has  an  evil  effect  over  all  the  area.  The  farmer 
is  himself  always  a  consumer.  If  he  is  prosperous  he  buys 
things.  And  as  he  buys  things  he  helps  to  keep  off  the 
demand  for  the  products  of  many  others  in  other  indus- 
tries. Thus  all  become  consumers  and  all  propsper  together. 
But  with  some  of  the  farmers  reducing  their  expenditures 
because  of  their  temporary  misfortunes  by  decreased  yields, 
the  total  of  demand  for  all  the  ordinary  things  of  life  is 
materially  reduced. 

The  true  principle  for  the  farmer  is  to  strive  to  have 
good  average  crops  and  have  them  steadily  all  the  time, 
and  here  it  is  that  scientific  soil  culture  plays  its  noble  part. 
The  greatest  thing  that  is  possible  for  any  state  or  any 
nation  or  any  section  of  country  is  to  have  assurance  of 
good  crops  every  year.  If  this  is  done  the  price  question 
will  soon  adjust  itself  to  conditions  so  that  the  market 
problem  is  less  and  less  one  to  cause  worry  to  the  farmer. 
If  there  is  a  surplus,  be  it  lr;*-ge  or  small,  a  place  will  be 
found  where  it  will  be  absorbed  properly,  and  this  once 
established  will  remain  permanently.  Everyone  will  re- 
joice in  the  good  fortune  of  his  neighbor. 

The  real  problem  of  prices  and  markets  is  that  of  how 
to  guard  against  the  distressing  ups  and  downs  of  crop 
yields  incident  to  the  hit  and  miss  style  of  farming  which 
is  partly  guess  work. 

Scientific  soil  culture  gets  at  the  root  of  the  problem. 
It  shows  the  way.  It  is  directed  toward  making  crops  grow 
where  they  were  not  before  grown  and  also,  and  this  is  most 
important  of  all,  toward  the  making  certain  of  good  crop 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  285 

every  year  where  under  the  old  system  crop  failures  were 
inevitable  at  times. 

The  condition  which  is  desired  is  one  of  assurance  of 
good  crops,  with  the  consequent  assurance  of  fair  and 
steady  prices,  and  this  state  of  affairs  running  through  a 
series  of  years  unchanged,  not  a  fluctuating  and  uncertain 
condition  with  an  occasional  good  crop  sandwiched  in  be- 
tween several  poor  ones  and  some  failures — and  when  this 
condition  becomes  general,  as  it  will,  there  will  be  no  more 
complaint  of  market  demoralization  and  no  desire  to  com- 
bine to  limit  crop  production  and  exact  high  prices. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


WORLD  WIDE  FAME  OF  THIS  WORK. 

It  is  a  matter  of  genuine  pride  and  satisfaction  that  there 
has  come  to  be,  even  though  it  is  after  years  of  waiting, 
almost  world  wide  recogniton  of  the  truth  of  what  we  have 
been  teaching  as  to  the  proper  method  of  conducting  farm 
operations  on  the  semi-arid  soils.  Of  course  it  is  a  matter 
which,  from  our  standpoint,  cannot  be  explained,  why  far- 
mers and  students  generally  have  been  so  slow  to  see  the 
truth,  but  we  make  due  allowance  for  the  momentum  of 
centuries  of  conservatism. 

But  if  recognition  of  the  truth  comes  apparently  very 
late  it  seems  to  be  coming  with  added  force  and  greater 
meaning.  Within  recent  months  we  have  had  evidence  of 
a  desire  to  know  more  of  the  system  coming  from  far  off 
lands  on  the  other  side  of  the  world,  and  there  is  a  demand 
for  some  information  on  the  subject  in  many  countries. 
The  system  of  scientific  soil  culture  has  forced  itself  to  the 
attention  of  many  of  the  best  students  and  writers  of  the 
country.  In  the  Century  Magazine  for  July,  1906,  there 
appeared  a  discussion  of  the  whole  subject  by  John  L. 
Cowan,  of  Albuquerque,  N.  M.  In  the  World's  Work  the 
same  season  appeared  another  similar  article  by  Herbert 
Quick,  the  talented  writer.  William  E.  Curtis,  a  famous 
correspondent  writing  for  the  Chicago  Record-Herald,  told 
at  length  in  July,  1905,  of  the  work  being  done  by  the 
Campbell  method  in  Kansas  and  elsewhere.  The  western 
newspapers  have  been  filled  with  information  on  the  sub- 


CAMPBELL'S    SOIL    CULTURE    MANUAL  287 

ject.  The  Northwestern  Miller,  of  Minneapolis,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1906,  gave  five  pages  and  over  to  a  presentation  of 
facts  regarding  the  system  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Cowan. 
Some  excerpts  from  these  various  articles  will  show  how 
the  world  is  coming  to  regard  the  work. 

SALVATION    OF    THE    DRY    BELT. 

From  the  article  by  Herbert  Quick  in  the  World's  Work 
Magazine  the  following  excerpts  are  taken: 

Since  Cain  first  tilled  the  soil,  many  a  new  thing  has  been 
seen  in  agriculture,  but  in  the  actual  handling  of  the  soil, 
perhaps  not  many.  A  picture  of  the  year's  work  of  the 
man  who  without  irrigation  successfully  farms  the  semi- 
arid  prairies  of  the  "Grat  American  Desert,"  however, 
shows  some  striking  novelties,  heralding  perhaps  an  agri- 
cultural revolution. 

The  achievements  of  Luther  Burbank  in  plant  breeding 
have  recently  held  general  attention.  I  am  glad  here  to 
put  forth  the  name  of  Mr.  Burbank  (at  least  in  the  generous 
emulation  of  those  who  are  striving  to  conquer  nature)— 
that  of  Hardy  W.  Campbell,  a  Vermont  man  who  formerly 
lived  in  South  Dakota  and  now  lives  in  Lincoln,  Neb.  The 
originator  of  the  "Campbell  Method"  of  "Dry  Farming," 
he  is  teaching  the  so-called  arid  west  that  it  is  not  arid  if 
it  but  uses  properly,  ordinary  rainfall  that  its  climate  yields. 

Mr.  Campbell,  without  irrigation,  can  make  crops  grow 
on  hundreds  of  thousands  of  semi-arid  square  miles  of 
"desert"  that  otherwise  would  be  fruitless  and  flowerless 
except  for  the  wild  growths,  sparse  and  unprofitable,  indi- 
genous to  such  land  and  climate.  In  the  natural  habitat 
of  the  cactus,  he  grows  wheat,  corn,  and  vegetables.  Be- 
tween the  Missouri  river  and  the  mountains,  "dry  farm- 
ing" has  become  a  phase  of  hope. 


288  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

The  Campbell  method  has  fought  its  way  to  acceptance 
through  its  results  only.  Its-  first  victory  was  won  in  1894 
in  Brown  county,  S.  D.,  when  Mr.  Campbell  grew  142 
bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre  in  competition  with  his  uncon- 
verted neighbors,  who  undertook  by  old  methods  to  sur- 
pass the  new  way,  and  met  failure  from  severe  drought. 
In  the  autumn  Mr.  Campbell's  field  was  moist  to  a  depth 
of  six  feet,  though  all  others  were  dry  as  dust  to  an  inde- 
finite depth.  In  October,  1895,  the  same  field  showed  ten 
feet  of  moisture  —  a  clear  evidence  of  gain  on  the  drouth. 

Mr.  Campbell  was  testing  his  system  patiently,  and  by 
true  scientific  methods,  and  this  year  sent  many  test  tubes 
of  earth  to  the  department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington 
for  moisture  tests.  The  following  table  shows  the  re- 
sults of  these  tests  from  two  fields:  No.  1,  under  the 
Campbell  method;  No.  2,  under  ordinary  tillage.  Similar 
results  are  found  in  all  these  tests.  The  table  covers  the 
first  ten  tests  of  July,  at  the  Hastings,  Neb.,  station. 


Date  Ins.  rainfall 

No.  1  No.  2 

July   1st,               None,               18.49  9.71 

"      3d,                   "                   18.30  9.68 

"      4th,                  "                   18.30  10.25 

"      5th,                  "                   19.89  9.16 

"      6th,                  "                   19.19  10.33 

"      7th,                  "                   17.04  9.85 

"      8th,          1-16  inch,           18.85  10.00 

"      9th,              None,               18.37  8.62 

11    10th,                  "                   17.36  8.90 

"     llth,                  "                    16.29  8.23 

The  significant  thing  shown  in  this  table  is  the  uniform 
moisture  of  the  Campbell  fields,  at  the  level  most  favorable 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  289 

to  plant  growth,  as  well  as  its  constant  excess  over  the 
others.  The  writer  has  found  the  soil  in  Campbell's  fields 
moist  enough  to  be  squeezed  into  a  ball,  while  identical 
soil  fifty  feet  away,  cultivated  by  ordinary  methods,  would 
blow  away  in  dust  when  released. 

The  Campbell  method  is  spoken  of  as  the  salvation  of 
the  dry  belt.  The  work  is  an  enormous  one,  that  of  chang- 
ing the  traditional  methods  of  plowing  and  harrowing  and 
tilling  of  a  whole  farming  population.  The  wonder  is, 
not  that  his  progress  has  been  so  slow,  but  that  in  the  ten 
years  of  his  active  apostolate  (for  such  his  life  has  been) 
*his  useful  and  patient  man  has  accomplished  so  much. 

RESULTS    DECLARED    TO    BE    REMARKABLE. 

William  E.  Curtis,  traveler  and  author,  went  to  Hill 
City,  Kansas,  in  the  summer  of  1905,  and  from  there 
wrote  a  two-column  article  for  the  Chicago  Record-Herald 
in  which  he  said: 

What  is  known  as  the  Campbell  method  of  "dry  farm- 
ing" is  being  practiced  on  the  semi-arid  plains  of  western 
Kansas  and  eastern  Colorado  with  remarkable  success. 
The  results  accomplished  on  several  model  farms,  under 
the  direction  of  the  inventor,  discoverer  or  promoter — 
whichever  you  prefer  to  call  him — are  remarkable,  and 
are  entitled  to  the  respect  of  every  one  who  is  interested 
in  the  development  of  the  high,  dry  plains  between  the 
Rocky  mountains  and  the  Missouri  river. 

Any  one  who  has  doubts  of  the  practicability  of  the 
Campbell  system  should  go  to  Hill  City,  Kansas,  and  com- 
pare the  crops  on  the  Pomeroy  farm  with  those  upon  the 
farms  which  surround  it,  for  the  fields  of  wheat,  corn,  oats, 
potatoes  and  everything  else  that  is  growing  will  be  four 
or  five  times  as  great  as  will  be  the  harvest  on  the  other 
side  of  the  fences. 


290 

Mr.  Campbell  has  been  working  in  North  Dakota,  South 
Dakota,  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  for  twenty  years  or  more 
trying  to  induce  farmers  to  adopt  his  plan  of  "soil  culture," 
as  he  calls  it,  and  everywhere  he  has  been,  from  the  James 
river  in  the  north  to  the  Arkansas,  he  has  been  equally 
successful  in  producing  without  irrigation  the  same  results 
that  are  usally  expected  with  irrigation  with  compara- 
tively little  more  expense.  There  is  no  secret  about  it. 
The  whole  thing  is  simply  the  exercise  of  care  and  patience, 
and  any  man  of  ordinary  intelligence  can  work  it  as  well  as 
a  college  professor  could  if  he  only  learns  how. 

The  Pomeroy  farm  certainly  proves  the  truth  of  Mr. 
Campbell's  theories,  or  else  he  is  a  wizard.  The  orchard, 
five  years  old,  is  equal  to  any  I  have  ever  seen;  the  hedges 
that  divide  the  fields  and  surround  the  garden  are  as  high 
as  the  head  of  a  man;  the  vegetable  garden,  the  berry 
bushes,  the  flowers  and  the  foliage  are  equal  to  any  that 
you  can  find  upon  the  best  irrigated  farm  in  California; 
while  the  wheat,  corn  and  potatoes  are  simply  perfect. 

The  farm  across  the  road  looks  skinny  and  shabby; 
the  gaps  oetween  the  rows  of  corn;  the  bald  spots  in  the 
wheat,  and  the  feeble  poatoes  look  as  if  a  conspiracy  had 
been  set  up  to  furnish  as  striking  a  contrast  as  possible. 
From  one  field  as  Mr.  Campbell  says,  he  expects  to  har- 
vest fifty-six  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  by  his  system. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  fence,  where  the  ordinary  meth- 
ods have  been  used,  it  will  not  pan  out  more  than  seven 
or  eight  bushels,  and  it  is  the  same  soil  and  the  same 
rainfall. 

ESSENTIALLY    SCIENTIFIC    FARMING. 

John  L.  Cowan,  writing  in  the  Century  Magazine  for 
July,  1906,  gave  something  of  what  had  been  done,  and  ne 
said: 


JAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  291 

It  has  been  demonstrated  on  many  model  farms  main- 
tained by  western  railroads  and  on  hundreds  of  private 
farms,  that  all  that  is  necessary  on  the  plains  and  in  the 
inter-mountain  parks  and  valleys  is  intelligently  to  make 
the  most  of  the  rains  and  snows  that  fall  in  order  to  grow 
as  good  crops  as  can  be  raised  anywhere.  In  other  words, 
farming  methods  must  be  adapted  to  natural  conditions. 
This  seems  so  simple  and  self-evident  that  the  only  wonder 
that  men  have  been  so  slow  in  finding  it  out.  It  ought  not 
to  be  hard  to  believe  that  lands  that  produce  the  rich 
buffalo  and  grama  grasses  of  the  plains  without  cultiva- 
tion, can  be  made  to  produce  crops  still  more  valuable 
with  cultivation  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate. 

However,  what  the  National  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, the  various  state  governmnts,  and  the  great  railroad 
corporations  have  at  last  been  made  to  see,  has  been  dem- 
onstrated every  season  for  twenty  years  consecutive  by 
Mr.  H.  W.  Campbell,  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  the  pioneer 
"dry  farmer"  of  arid  America.  In  sc'ores  of  places  from 
the  James  river  to  the  Arkansas  he  has  been  uniformly 
successful  in  producing  without  irrigation  the  same  results 
that  are  expected  with  irrigation,  with  comparatively  little 
additional  expense,  but  not  without  more  watchfulness 
and  care.  What  western  people  have  become  accustomed 
to  calling  the  "Campbell  system  of  dry  farming"  consists 
simply  in  the  exercise  of  intelligence,  care,  patience,  and 
industry. 

Dry  farming  is  essentiallv  scientific  farming,  and  for 
that  reason  the  term  used  by  Mr.  Campbell,  "scientific 
soil  culture,"  is  perhaps,  more  truly  descriptive  than  the 
popular  term.  Nevertheless,  its  principles  can  be,  and  are 
applied  just  as  successfully  by  men  who  have  as  little  of 
the  education  of  the  schools  as  they  are  by  the  college  grad- 


292  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

uates.     However,  no  farmer  in  the  arid  belt  need  hope 
for  even  moderate  success  without  unceasing  diligence. 

Twenty  years  ago  Mr.  J.  P.  Pomeroy,  now  of  Colorado 
Springs,  acquired  30,000  acres  of  land  in  Graham  county, 
western  Kansas,  and  founded  Hill  City  almost  in  the  center 
of  the  tract.  For  fourteen  years  portions  of  this  tract  were 
cultivated  by  old-fashioned  methods.  In  all  that  time 
only  one  good  crop  was  harvested,  that  being  in  a  season 
when  the  rainfall  was  abnormally  large.  He  had  heard  of 
Mr.  Campbell  and  his  system  of  dry  farming  and  sent  for 
him,  telling  him  to  go  ahead  and  shew  him  just  what  he 
could  do  on  land  on  which  profitable  farming  by  ordinary 
methods  had  proven  to  be  impossible.  Mr.  Campbell  laid 
out  a  model  farm  on  the  very  land  that  had  been  tried  often 
with  discouraging  results.  Last  season  the  sixth  successive 
crop  was  harvested.  In  the  fourteen  years  in  which  old- 
fashioned  methods  were  followed,  thirteen  failures  were 
scored.  In  the  six  years  in  which  the  Campbell 
system  has  been  on  trial  on  the  same  lands,  a  crop  failure 
has  been  unknown.  The  smallest  yield  of  wheat  per  acre 
in  that  time  has  been  thirty-five  bushels,  while  farmers 
close  by  have  never  obtained  more  than  thirteen  bushels 
per  acre,  and  very  rarely  even  that.  The  yields  of  corn, 
oats,  potatoes,  alfalfa,  berries,  small  fruits,  and  vegetables 
is  equal  to  that  obtained  from  the  average  irrigated  farms 
around  Greeley,  Fort  Collins,  Grand  Junction,  and  other 
parts  of  Colorado  ' 'under  the  ditch."  On  this  farm  there 
is  also  a  six-year-old  orchard  that  is  in  prime  condition,  the 
trees  being  as  large  as  eight-year-old  trees  in  the  famous 
fruit  growing  district  of  Palisades.  A  more  complete 
vindication  of  all  the  claims  made  by  the  advocates  of  the 
practicability  of  farming  on  the  plains  without  irrigation 
could  not  well  be  imagined, 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  293 


CHAPTER  XL. 


GOOD  FARMING  AND  GOOD  MORALS. 

Perhaps  it  is  not  fair  to  assert  that  for  the  preservation 
of  the  morals  of  a  people  dependence  must  be  placed  entirely 
on  the  farming  class;  but  it  is  not  going  a  bit  too  far  to 
insist  that  as  between  good  farming  and  poor  farming 
there  is  a  difference  as  wide  as  the  poles  are  separated  in 
their  relation  to  the  morals  of  the  people. 

Did  you  ever  pass  an  old  farm,  with  broken  fences  over- 
grown with  weeds,  with  ramshackle  sheds  and  a  nouse 
with  unmended  roof,  with  exposed  corn  bins,  and  a  few 
racing  hogs  browsing  along  the  hedge  rows?  And  if  you 
have,  do  you  not  recall  that  involuntarily  you  peeked 
around  the  corners  expecting  to  find  the  head  of  the  family 
in  keeping  with  his  surroundings  and  living  a  life  not  at  all 
to  be  made  use  of  as  an  example?  Of  course  not  every 
farmer  struggling  against  odds  on  a  half-barren  farm  is 
below  the  standard  in  methods  of  living.  There  may  be 
high  thinking  and  genuine  love  for  all  that  is  best  in  the 
world  and  this  amid  surroundings  not  at  all  congenial. 
But  usually  if  there  is  a  desire  for  the  better  life,  there  is 
some  sign  displayed  by  which  the  keen  observer  may 
know  that  conditions  are  but  temporary. 

But  you  pause  at  the  gate  near  a  modest  cottage  neatly 
painted,  and  about  the  place  there  is  an  air  of  neatness 
and  cleanness  and  good  living,  and  you  expect  to  find,  and 
usually  do  find,  a  family  living  the  happy  and  contented 
life. 


294  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

Now  there  is  nothing  that  will  go  so  far  toward  chang- 
ing the  life  of  a  man  or  of  a  family  to  the  better  things  as 
prosperity.  Poverty  is  a  demoralizing  influence.  Idleness 
is  next  of  kin  to  sin.  And  idleness  is  closely  associated 
with  poor  farming.  Whatever  tends  to  give  the  people 
more  of  the  material  comforts  of  life  helps  to  raise  them 
up.  It  is  easier  to  be  good  when  one  has  had  a  fine  dinner. 

Scientific  soil  culture  points  the  way  to  greater  pros- 
perity on  the  farm.  It  means  steady  large  results  with  no 
losses.  It  means  that  farming  operations  are  reduced  to 
a  science.  With  an  understanding  of  its  principles  and 
such  application  of  the  same  as  to  produce  the  results 
which  are  always  possible,  it  means  the  raising  of  the 
average  of  living  to  a  higher  plane.  It  means  more  home 
comforts,  better  farm  equipment,  finer  houses  and  barns, 
good  roads,  telephone,  and  trolley  lines,  and  above  all  else 
support  of  the  schools  and  the  churches. 

It  is  a  most  excellent  thing  for  any  community  to  give 
support  to  the  schools  and  the  churches.  The  benefits 
come  in  many  ways.  They  are  not  all  visionary.  And  a 
people  who  do  support  schools  and  churches  are  not  the 
up-grade  at  all  times.  They  help  to  better  conditions  in 
the  cities  and  towns.  They  give  to  the  cities  the  ablest 
of  the  men  in  all  walks  of  life.  But  unless  there  is  actual 
success  in  farm  operations  the  influence  nay  be  the  other 
way.  Discontent  on  the  farm  is  a  dangerous  thing  and  has 
sent  many  a  noble  boy  and  girl  to  the  city  with  high  hopes 
of  betterment  which  too  often  have  proved  a  bitter  failure. 

It  is  because  of  the  fact  that  the  state  and  the  nation 
are  vitally  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  farming  popu- 
lation that  public  sentiment  supports  with  hearty  unanim- 
ity the  expenditures  of  millions  annually  to  improve  the 
farming  conditions.  The  state  cannot  be  a  good  state 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  295 

unless  its  people  are  prosperous  and  contented.  They 
need  not  be  stupidly  content  with  the  idea  that  they  have 
attained  perfection,  but  they  should  have  the  content 
which  comes  to  him  who  triumphs  in  what  he  undertakes. 
And  so  state  and  nation  are  alike  lending  a  helping  hand 
to  the  farmer. 

As  a  great  moral  influence  we  shall  claim  for  scientific 
soil  culture  a  place  in  the  front  rank.  It  leads  all  others 
because  upon  the  quality  and  quantity  of  what  is  grown 
from  the  soil  depends  the  magnitude  and  success  of  all 
brashes  of  agricultural  pursuits, 


Fair  Investigation. — Agriculture  demands  and  Uo 
all  the  investigation  which  is  being  given  to  it — it  is  in  need 
of,  and  is  worthy  of,  all  the  investigators  whose  services 
are  being  devoted  to  this  greatest  of  all  our  industries;  but 
let  us  remember  that  it  is  only  a  genius  who  can  draw  cor- 
rect conclusions  from  incomplete  date  or  insufficient  pre- 
mises ;  that  we  are  to  use  all  obtainable  information  to  guide 
us,  and  that  we  are  to  work  together  as  a  unit  for  the  better- 
ment of  American  agriculture.  The  work  is  greater  than 
any  man  or  any  office.  Let  every  man  develop  and  mag- 
nify the  line  of  work  which  he  is  called  upon  to  perform, 
but  let  us  neither  decry  nor  ignore  nor  underestimate  the 
value  of  any  other  good  work.  Prof.  Cyril  G.  Hopkins, 
Illinc?.s  University o 


296  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

• 

CHAPTER  XLI. 
PROFIT  OF  SCIENTIFIC  SOIL  CULTURE 

The  only  way  to  determine  just  how  profitable  scientific 
soil  culture  is  as  compared  with  the  old  way  is  to  make  the 
test  on  the  farm  but  we  give  here  a  2-year  comparison  as  a 
help  to  those  who  want  to  know  the  difference.  The  simple 
and  direct  application  of  scientific  soil  culture  involves  one 
crop  in  two  years.  This  is  not  always  the  case,  for  it  may 
be  two  crops  in  three  years  or  three  in  four.  But  assuming 
that  to  get  ideal  results  it  is  necessary  to  grow  just  one  crop 
in  two  years,  we  may  then  compare  this  with  two  ordinary 
crops  in  the  same  two  years  and  reach  a  conclusion  that 
will  mean  something. 

We  give  below  a  fair  estimate  of  the  cost,  results  and 
profits  of  a  2-year  period  under  the  scientific  method  and 
the  old  way.  Average  prices  are  paid  for  labor  in  both 
cases  and  we  have  tried  to  be  conservative.  It  may  be 
felt  by  some  that  we  have  placed  the  wheat  yield  too  high 
under  the  scientific  method,  but  we  have  really  discounted 
actual  results  and  made  allowance  for  imperfections. 

Wheat  yields  in  the  dry  country  have  been,  under  the 
Campbell  method,  as  much  as  60  to  67  bushels  to  the  acre. 
We  have  figured  on  50  bushels.  But  even  if  this  should  be 
cut  materially  there  still  is  margin  for  a  nice  profit.  All 
will  depend  upon  whether  or  not  the  work  is  rightly  done. 
We  give  a  fair  estimate  on  the  cost  and  profits  of  two  fields 
of  100  acres  each,  one  by  the  old  method  and  one  by  the 
Campbell  method  as  follows: 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE   MANUAL  297 

BY   SCIENTIFIC   SOIL  CULTURE. 

Double  disking  in  Juiy,  one  man,  four  horses,  45c  an  acre. . . .  $45.00 

Harrowing  twice  over  after  rains,  lOc  per  acre  each  time 20 .00 

Double  disking  in  early  spring 45 . 00 

Harrowing  three  times  after  rains 30 .00 

Plowing  7  inches  deep  in  July 200 .00 

Subsurface  packing,  once  over 25 .00 

Harrowing  four  times  after  rains 60 . 00 

Seeding  with  drills 40 . 00 

Thirty-four  bushels  seed  wheat  at  $1 34.00 

Harrowing  twice  in  spring  with  lever  harrow 20 . 00 

Harvesting 60 .00 

Four  hundred  pounds  twine  at  14c 56.00 

Threshing  5000  bushels  at  7c 350 .00 

Marketing,  3c 150.00 

Total  expenses  two  years $1,135 .00 

Credit  by  5000  bushels  at  80o $4,000.00 

Less  total  expenses 1,135.00 

Profit $2,865.00 

BY  ORDINARY    METHOD. 

Plowing  in  August  and  September $200 .00 

Harrowing  once 10 .00 

Seeding 40.00 

One  hundred  bushels  seed 100 .00 

Harvesting 60 .00 

One  hundred  fifty  pounds  twine,  14c 21 . 00 

Threshing  1300  bushels  7c 91 .00 

Marketing,  3c 39.00 

Total  expenses  first  year $561.00 

Same  for  two  years 1,122 .00 

Yield  first  year  1300  bushels  at  80c 1,040 .00 

Yield  second  1300  bushels  at  80c 1,040.00 

Total  income  for  two  years $2,080 .00 

Total  expense  two  years 1,122.00 

Profit $958.00 

Net  profit  Campbell  method  one  crop  in  two  years $2,865.00 

Net  profit  old  method  two  crops  in  two  years 958 . 00 

Difference  in  favor  of  Scientific  Soil  Culture $1,907 .00 


298  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


CORRESPONDENCE  AND  COMMENT. 

Under  date  of  July  5,  1906,  Charles  F.  Mills,  editor 
of  the  Farm  and  Home,  Springfield,  111.,  in  acknowledging 
receipt  of  a  copy  of  the  1905  Manual,  wrote: 

"My  attention  was  called  to  your  methods  of  dry 
farming  in  the  July  issue  of  the  Century.  We  hope  to  be 
able  to  send  you  some  orders  for  your  Manual  which  will 
be  offered  as  a  premium.  Your  work  is  deserving  of  the 
highest  commendation." 

FINEST    EVER. 

F.  H.  Oberthier,  secretary  and  general  manager  of  the 
Comanche  Cotton  Oil  Company,  Comanche,  Texas,  wrote: 

"I  have  read  and  reread  your  Manual  and  I  think  it  is 
the  finest  work  of  the  kind  I  ever  saw.  I  think  every 
farmer  in  the  semi-arid  west  should  study  this  book.  I 
wouldn't  take  $1,000  for  what  it  has  taught  me." 

INCREASED    LAND    VALUE. 

Herman  S.  Youtsey,  writing  from  Fort  Collins,  Col., 
Dec.  10th,  1905,  said: 

"I  have  been  reading  what  one  of  the  wiseacres  has  to 
say  in  defining  the  Campbell  system  of  soil  culture  and  as 
usual  the  most  conspicuous  point  in  the  article  is  what  he 
don't  know  about  the  system.  Meeting  so  many  articles 
of  this  character  in  which  improper  notions  are  inculcated 
and  knowing  the  importance  of  a  correct  knowledge  of 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  299 

the  Campbell  methods,  I  am  led  to  the  conclusion  that 
some  more  effective  plan  of  getting  your  Manual  of  soil 
culture  into  the  hands  of  the  people  should  be  devised.  I 
have  frequently  said  that  your  Manual  is  worth  its  weight 
in  gold  to  any  man  who  tills  the  soil  whether  he  farms 
wthout  irrigation  or  with  it.  No  reasonable  consideration 
could  induce  me  to  part  with  the  knowledge  I  have  gained 
from  your  writing,  if  such  a  thing  was  possible,  for  by 
following  in  the  way  you  have  indicated  I  have  caused 
land  costing  $3.00  an  acre  to  yield  a  net  income  of  $18.00 
an  acre  in  one  year  and  aside  from  the  question  of  a  mone- 
tary consideration,  it  has  lifted  farm  labor  from  mere 
drudgery  to  the  field  of  scientific  pursuit." 

GREAT    DISCOVERY. 

John  E.  Leet,  after  years  of  careful  study  of  the  sub- 
ject, wrote  in  the  Denver  Republican: 

"The  Campbell  system  is  a  glorious  success.  It  is  not 
a  mere  wet  season  humbug,  destined  to  collapse  with  the 
next  series  of  dry  years.  I  have  doubted,  watched,  inves- 
tigated constantly,  for  nine  months,  and  have  become  abso- 
lutely convinced  that  it  is  the  greatest  agricultural  discov- 
ery of  recent  history.  It  will  rapidly  settle  the  fertile, 
sunny,  beautiful  healthful  rolling  plains  of  eastern  Colorado 
and  western  Kansas  with  a  dense  and  thrifty  population." 

WEALTH    INCREASED. 

L.  J.  Clinton,  director  of  the  Agricultural  experiment 
station  at  Storrs,  Conn.,  writing  January  21,  1907,  in  regard 
to  the  Manual,  said: 

"I  know  something  of  the  work  you  have  done  in  re- 
claiming what  was  known  formerly  as  'the  great  American 
desert/  and  I  believe  as  a  result  of  your  instruction  in  soil 


300  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

culture  work  that  the  wealth  of  the  country  has  been  very 
materially  increased.  I  shall  await  the  arrival  of  your 
book  with  considerable  interest." 

IN    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 

R.  J.  Mann,  president  of  the  Clark  county  National 
Bank,  at  Clark,  S.  D.,  ordered  for  free  distribution  among 
his  bank  customers  500  of  the  Campbell  Soil  Culture  Alma- 
nacs, issued  in  1907,  and  he  wrote: 

"I  have  been  studying  your  literature  the  last  year  and 
am  very  much  interested  in  it,  and  this  is  the  cause  of  my 
ordering  these  almanacs.  I  know,  or  believe,  you  are 
doing  a  good  work  and  would  be  glad  to  see  your  work  go 
into  the  farmers'  hands,  and  I  hope  that  distributing 
these  almanacs  will  prove  what  you  feel  and  that  I  believe 
can  be  done  in  this  country  with  good  farming." 

W.  M.  Wiley,  manager  of  the  Arkansas  Valley  Sugar 
Beet  and  Irrigated  land  company,  at  Holly,  Col.,  writing 
to  Mr.  Campbell,  said: 

"Although  I  have  never  met  you  I  have  become  greatly 
impressed  with  what  is  called  the  Campbell  system  of 
farming.  In  1902  we  had  to  farm  the  lands  under  the 
Amity  canal  without  water,  and  by  carrying  out  a  modi- 
fied system  of  your  views  we  succeeded  in  making  a  crop 
practically  without  irrigation,  and  it  was  a  good  crop,  too. 
This  served  to  attract  my  attention  more  than  ever  to  your 
system.  I  have  told  several  officials  of  the  Santa  Fe  Rail- 
road that  the  arid  west  could  be  better  and  sooner  put  into 
cultivation  by  following  your  theories  or  the  practices  re- 
commended by  you  than  by  getting  the  government  to 
spend  oceans  of  money  for  irrigation  works,  because  no 
matter  how  much  money  was  spent  in  irrigation,  the  amount 
of  land  which  the  water  would  cover  must  necessarily  be 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  301 

infinitesmal  compared  to  the  vast  area  to  be  cultivate  J; 
but  that  if  they  would  adopt  your  plan  and  establish  some 
model  farms  under  your  direction  something  could  be  done 
in  cultivating  the  country.  I  should  like  very  much  to 
meet  and  have  a  talk  with  you.  I  should  like  particularly 
to  get  the  U.  S.  government  interested  in  your  methods.'' 

BIG    RESULTS. 

J.  P.  Pomeroy,  of  Colorado  Springs,  under  date  of  Sep- 
tember 10,  1904,  writes  to  C.  E.  Wantland,  Denver:  "We 
cultivate  entirely  under  Professor  Campbell's  plan.  This 
season  the  wheat  crop  in  our  section  was  practically  a  fail- 
ure, which  was  the  result  of  the  failure  of  our  farmers  to  put 
in  their  crops  in  time,  and  to  properly  cultivate;  this  was 
clearly  proven  by  the  fact  that  on  our  farm  we  raised  over 
forty  bushels  per  acre,  and  from  less  than  one-half  bushel 
of  seed  planted.  Surely  the  time  must  soon  come,  when 
our  people  will  have  realized  that  this  system  absolutely 
assures  the  production  of  regular  crops  every  year  through 
western  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  as  well  as  eastern  Colorado." 


The  Campbell  method  is  spoken  of  as  the  salvation  of 
the  dry  belt.  The  work  is  an  enormous  one,  that  of  chang- 
ing the  traditional  methods  of  plowing  and  harrowing  and 
tilling,  of  a  whole  farming  population.  The  wonder  is,  not 
that  his  progress  has  been  so  slow,  but  that  in  the  ten  years 
of  his  active  apostolate  (for  such  his  life  has  been)  this  useful 
and  patient  man  has  succeeded  in  doing  so  much. — Herbert 
Quick,  in  World's  Work. 


302  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 


TOOLS  FOR  THE  FARM. 

Since  publishing  our  first  manual  in  1901,  we  have 
been  asked  many  times  for  a  list  of  the  implements  we 
consider  best  adapted  to  general  farming  on  the  prairie  of 
the  great  semi-arid  belt.  This,  we  realize,  is  a  delicate 
subject  on  which  to  give  advice,  therefore,  we  simply  give 
a  list  of  such  tools  as  we  bought  for  the  Pomeroy  Model 
Farm  at  Hill  City,  the  Burlington  Model  farm  at  Holdredge 
and  for  other  farms. 

For  ordinary  sized  farms  we  have  four-horse  tools,  or 
larger,  as  far  as  it  is  possible.  To  decrease  the  cost  of 
production  adds  profits,  the  same  as  to  increase  the  yield. 
When  one  man  can  turn  over  two  fourteen-inch  furrows 
or  twenty-eight  inches  by  driving  four  horses  instead  of 
sixteen  inches  by  driving  three  horses,  you  are  not  only 
decreasing  the  cost  of  plowing  over  thirty  per  cent,  but  are 
getting  a  field  plowed  in  six  days  that  would  take  ten  days 
with  the  sixteen  inch  plow.  This  is  an  advantage  in  many 
ways  and  what  is  true  of  plowing  is  proportionately  true 
of  all  other  farm  work. 

The  following  tools  make  a  very  complete  outfit  for 
four  good  heavy  work  horses,  and  with  these  horses  and 
tools  eighty  to  one  hundred  acres  can  be  handled  by  our 
plan  on  the  high  level  priries  of  the  more  arid  portions  of 
ill1  semi-arid  belt  where  the  soils  are  of  the  usual  sand- 
Ion  in  formation. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  303 

LIST  OF  TOOLS. 

One  gang  plow,  two  fourteen-inch. 

One  four-horse  disk  harrow.   . 

One  four-horse  improved  harrow. 

One  four-horse  combination  weeder. 

One  four-horse  Campbell  sub-packer. 

One  two-row  cultivator. 

One  one-horse  cultivator. 

In  addition  to  these  tools  comes  such  planters'  drills 
and  harvesters  as  shall  be  needed  for  the  crops  the  farmer 
may  wish  to  raise. 

The  list  of  tools  is  such  as  has  been  found  most  desir- 
able for  securing  the  best  possible  physical  condition  of 
*he  soil  at  the  least  expense. 

THE    SUB-SURFACE    PACKER. 

There  are  few  farm  implements  of  high  merit  that  have 
had  the  struggle  for  recognition  that  the  sub-surface  packer 
has.  It  was  first  put  upon  the  market  in  1895  and  about 
100  sold.  A  few  more  sold  each  succeeding  year,  but  no 
great  numbers  until  the  year  1905. 

The  principal  drawback  was  the  fact  that  it  was  a 
new  tool,  with  a  new  mission,  backed  by  a  new  principle, 
and  every  conceivable  theory  has  been  advanced  to  side- 
track its  popularity  mainly  on  the  ground  that  the  ideal 
physical  condition  brought  out  by  its  proper  use  was  not 
necessary,  and  as  the  machine  cost  from  $25.00  to  $45.00 
according  to  size  and  distance  from  factory,  the  public 
generally  were  quite  inclined  to  credit  all  theories  of  the 
skeptics. 

But  the  machine  kept  persistently  at  its  mission,  prov- 
ing the  marvelous  results  to  be  gained  from  the  new  prin- 
ciples involved,  thereby  steadily  gaining  recognition  until 


,°,04  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

the  year  1905,  when  there  were  more  sub-surface  pacKers 
sold  than  in  all  the  previons  nine  years  combined.  Then 
the  factory  was  compelled  to  expand  its  facilities  and  the 
demand  continued  to  increase  until  the  sales  for  the  year 
1906  were, equivalent  to  more  than  twice  the  total  number 
sold  not  only  in  1905  but  from  January  1st,  1895,  to  Jan- 
uary 1st,  1906.  Just  before  going  to  press  we  learn  that 
the  orders  received  at  the  factory  for  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary, 1907,  were  nearly  half  as  many  as  the  entire  sales 
for  1906. 

There  is  but  one  reason  for  this  enormous  increase  in 
the  sales  of  the  sub-surface  packer,  and  that  is,  that  this 
new  machine  has  accomplished  its  new  mission  by  proving 
through  practical  demonstrations  that  the  new  principle 
of  a  thoroughly  pulverized  and  absolutely  firm  sub-stratum, 
or  root  and  seed  bed,  and  its  perfect  connection  with  the 
subsoil  below,  is  one  of  the  most  vital  conditions  for  suc- 
cessful crop  growing,  and  the  one  point  to  be  fully  recog- 
nized in  preparing  the  soil  for  the  purpose  of  growing  large 
yields  of  all  kinds  of  cereals. 


An  unassuming  fellow  townsman  of  mine,  Mr.  H.  W 
Campbell,  has  made  a  discovery  worthy  to  rank  him  with 
Watt,  Hudson,  Eli  Whitney  and  Edison — that  of  to  stor- 
ing up  water  in  the  soil  to  be  cultivated  as  to  make  a  very 
meager  precipitation  suffice  to  grow  a  crop  and  that  with 
no  irrigation. — E.  Benjamin  Andrews,  Chancellor  Neb- 
raska State  University. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  305 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 


SOME  HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT. 

The  Northwestern  Miller,  in  issues  in  November,  1906> 
contained  three  very  complete  and  satisfactory  articles 
upon  the  Campbell  system  written  by  John  L.  Cowan,  in 
which  an  outside  view  of  the  work  was  given,  and  from 
the  standpoint  of  an  investigator  coming  to  the  subject 
without  prejudice.  Below  is  given  some  portions  of  this 
largely  for  the  bit  of  history  which  Mr.  Cowan  wove  into 
the  narrative: 

There  has  been  no  more  important  agricultural  develop- 
ment within  recent  years  than  the  sudden  rise  in  popular 
approval  of  the  Campbell  System  of  Scientific  Soil  Culture 
— or,  as  the  public  prefers  to  call  it,  "Dry  Farming."  Dur- 
ing two  months  of  the  past  summer,  it  was  given  more 
magazine  and  newspaper  publicity  than  in  the  twenty  years 
before,  through  which  the  originator  of  the  system  toiled 
to  bring  it  to  perfection  and  fought  for  recognition. 

The  one  thing  that  has  finally  compelled  endorsement 
is  its  results.  It  has  "delivered  the  goods,"  and  few  people 
will  refuse  to  credit  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses.  Con- 
sequently, the  great  trans-continental  railroad  systems  own- 
ing land  grants  have  vied  with  ten  thousand  land  agents  in 
their  efforts  to  inform  the  public  about  this  new  system  of 
farming  on  the  "dry  lands"  without  irrigation. 

The  National  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  vari- 
ous state  agricultural  colleges  have  not  endorsed  or  given 
official  recognition  to  the  Campbell  system.  They  have 


306  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

recgonized  its  results,  if  not  in  official  documents,  in  the 
far  more  significant  form  of  establishing  numerous  experi- 
ment stations  on  the  high,  dry  plains  that  they  have  always 
hitherto  regarded  as  hopelessly  arid.  There  they  are  de- 
monstrating along  independent  lines  the  very  facts  to  the 
proving  of  which  Hardy  W.  Campbell  has  devoted  more 
than  twenty  years  of  his  life.  This  belated  government 
action,  taken  when  the  results  of  the  Campbell  system 
could  no  longer  be  denied  or  ignored,  is,  in  fact,  the  strong- 
est endorsement  that  the  Campbell  system  of  farming  with- 
out irrigation  in  the  semi-arid  region  could  receive.  *  * 

Mr.  Campbell's  own  account  of  the  circumstances  tha 
started  his  investigations  is  interesting,  and  hitherto  un- 
published. In  1882,  he  harvested  one  of  the  greatest  wheat 
crops  that  had  ever  been  cut  and  threshed  in  the  Dakotas, 
obtaining  12,000  bushels  from  300  acres  of  land,  in  Brown 
county,  South  Dakota.  The  next  year,  his  crop  of  260 
acres  of  the  same  land  was  an  absolute  failure,  while  the 
remaining  40  acres  returned  a  good  yield.  Here  was  a 
puzzling  proposition,  as  all  the  land  had  received  the  same 
treatment  and  had  been  seeded  at  practically  the  same 
time.  To  discover  the  reason  for  the  widely  differing  har- 
vests became,  for  a  time,  Mr.  Campbell's  ruling  passion. 

He  recalled  that  the  record-breaking  crop  of  12,000 
bushels  had  been  secured  after  spring  plowing  of  the  land. 
Also  that  the  260  acres  that  failed  to  yield  a  crop  worth 
harvesting  the  subsequent  season  had  been  plowed  in  the 
fall,  while  the  40  acres  from  which  a  good  crop  had  been 
obtained  had  been  plowed  in  the  spring.  The  conclusion 
seemed  inevitable  that  the  secret  of  obtaining  good  crops 
lay  in  the  spring  plowing. 

He  talked  it  over  with  his  neighbors,  and  everyone 
agreed  that  the  virtues  of  spring  plowing  for  spring  wheat 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  307 

had  been  incontrovertibly  demonstrated.  Fortunately  for 
the  farmers  of  Brown  county,  they  realized  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  them  to  plow  all  their  wheat  land  in  the 
spring  in  time  to  get  their  seeding  done:  but  everyone  re- 
duced the  amount  of  fall  plowing  to  its  lowest  possible 
terms.  Never  before  or  since  was  the  percentage  of  wheat 
land  in  that  neighborhood  plowed  in  the  spring  so  great.- 
When  harvest  time  came,  everyone  had  the  same  result: 
the  crop  was  all  but  a  total  failure  on  the  land  that  had 
been  plowed  in  the  spring;  but  that  plowed  the  preceding 
fall  returned  a  good  yield. 

Campbell,  the  man  from  Vermont,  where  people  are 
born  asking  questions,  and  never  outgrow  the  habit,  was 
not  discouraged.  He  was  willing  to  admit,  with  his  neigh- 
bors, that  the  whole  secret  of  the  production  of  good  crops 
did  not  lie  in  the  time  of  plowing.  Where  he  differed  from 
his  neighbors  was  in  his  refusal  to  believe  that  the  secret 
vas  past  finding  out. 

Even  at  that  early  stage  of  his  investigations,  he  be- 
lieved it  possible  to  conserve  in  the  soil  sufficient  moisture 
to  mature  a  crop,  even  in  years  of  extreme  drouth  such  as 
brought  disaster  to  the  farmers  of  the  plains  with  discour- 
aging frequency.  The  problem  to  be  worked  out  was  how 
to  place  the  soil  in  the  proper  physical  condition  for  the 
reception  and  storage  of  moisture.  For  the  reception  and 
ready  percolation  of  moisture,  it  required  no  extended  train 
of  reasoning  to  teach  him  that  the  soil  must  be  kept  loose 
and  porous  by  thorough  cultivation. 

How  to  keep  the  moisture  there,  was  a  widely  different 
matter.  The  common  expedient  was  the  use  of  the  roller, 
in  01  ^er  to  compact  the  soil  and  prevent  too  rapid  evapora- 
tion. Experiment  convinced  him  that  this  was  of  little 
value,  because  its  effects  were  confined  to  two  or  three 


308  CAMBPELI/S    SOIL   CULTURE    MANUAL 

inches  of  top  soil.  Further  experiment  showed  him  that 
it  defeated  the  very  end  it  was  designed  to  promote,  in- 
creasing the  movement  of  moisture  from  below  up  into  the 
compacted  stratum,  where  it  speedily  passed  off  by  eva- 
poration. While  perfectly  true  that  a  plowed  field  that 
has  been  rolled  shows  the  presence  of  considerably -more 
moisture  near  the  surface  that  can  be  found  in  one  that 
is  due  solely  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  supply  that  has  per- 
colated down  into  the  subsoil.  That  supply  is  needed  far 
more  urgently  to  carry  the  growing  crop  over  the  pro- 
tracted heat  and  probable  drouth  of  summer  than  to  aid 
in  the  germination  of  seed.  The  use  of  the  roller,  therefore, 
was  abandoned,  as  promoting  the  early  exhaustion  rather 
than  the  conservation  of  moisture. 

In  1885,  he  designed  his  first  sub-soil  packer,  constructed 
somewhat  after  the  form  of  a  grain  drill,  with  teeth,  or  pack- 
ing devices  that  slanted  backward,  penetrating  the  soil  to 
a  depth  of  several  inches,  tending  to  squeeze  the  earth  be- 
tween them  closer  together.  This  gave  encouraging  re- 
sults as  a  crop  producer,  and  frequent  tests  of  the  soil,  com- 
pared with  tests  of  adjacent  lands  not  thus  packed,  proved 
that  it  did  conserve  the  moisture,  although  not  as  efficiently 
as  was  desirable.  The  use  of  this  implement  proved  im- 
practicable, for  the  reason  that  the  friction  was  too  great 
and  it  required  too  much  power  to  work  it  to  render  it  ad- 
aptable for  general  farm  use.  Nevertheless,  the  experi- 
ments made  with  it  were  of  great  value,  proving  that  the 
packing  of  the  sub-soil  (not  of  the  surface)  would  conserve 
^he  moisture. 

To  give  the  record  of  the  hundreds  of  experiments  that 
have  been  conducted  since  1885  would  not  now  be  possible. 
Even  if  possible,  that  record  would  be  tedious,  uninterest- 
ing and  unimportant.  Equally  unimportant  would  be  an 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  309 

account  of  his  efforts  to  remedy  the  defects  in  his  early  edu- 
cation that  so  seriously  hampered  him  in  the  prosecution 
o£  a  strictly  scientific  investigation  along  original  lines. 
Many  of  the  things  that  he  had  to  learn  by  patient  experi- 
ment would  have  been  taught  him  by  the  schools,  or  could 
have  been  reasoned  out  had  he  been  thoroughly  grounded 
at  the  start  in  scientific  methods.  Perhaps,  however-  '* 
his  idea  had  been  conventionalized  by  too  much  of  the  sci- 
ence of  college  curricula  he  might  have  accepted  the  dictum 
that  the  reclamation  of  the  semi-arid  lands  was  impossible, 
and  the  Campbell  system  would  never  have  been  born. 

After  giving  much  more  of  the  detail  history  of  the 
years  of  labor  which  resulted  in  the  development  of  the 
system  Mr.  Cowan  continued: 

Some  have  gone  so  far  as  to  assert  that  most  of  the 
methods  taught  by  Mr.  Campbell  were  advocated  by  Jethro 
Tull,  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago.  Inasmuch  as 
Jethro  Tull  never  visited  America  and  .probably  never  heard 
of  the  American  plains,  it  would  be  remarkable  indeed  if 
he  had  devised  a  system  of  agricultural  procedure  suited 
to  conditions  there. 

It  is,  of  course,  true  that  many  of  the  facts  of  the  Camp- 
bell system  were  known  long  before  Mr.  Campbell's  time. 
Some  of  the  methods  used  are  applicable  to  farming  the 
whole  world  over,  and  have  been  practiced  for  generations. 
Some  of  the  processes  have  been  worked  out  under  the 
pressure  of  necessity  by  hundreds,  or  perhaps,  thousands, 
of  farmers  on  the  plains.  If  Campbell  had  done  no  more 
than  collect,  organize  and  classify  these  disconnected  facts 
and  methods  into  a  coherrent  system  of  practice  adapted  to 
conditions  in  the  semi-arid  belt,  he  would  have  accom- 
plished a  work  of  the  very  highest  utility. 

"He  has  done  much  more  than  that.     He  has  adopted 


310  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

nothing  on  mere  hearsay  or  authority.  Every  principle 
advocated  by  him,  he  has  tested,  not  once,  nor  in  one  place, 
but  many  times,  in  widely  separated  localities,  in  seasojis 
of  greatly  differing  rainfall  and  temperature,  throughout 
the  plains  region  from  the  James  river  valley  to  the  Texas 
Panhandle.  In  addition,  there  are  principles  of  soil  cul- 
ture and  methods  of  procedure  that  unquestionably  origin- 
ated with  him.  One  of  these  is  that  of  "summer  culture" 
on  newly  broken  prairie  land,  before  any  attempt  is  made 
to  grow  a  crop.  Anyone  who  breaks  prairie  lands,  and 
plants  them  without  first  devoting  a  full  season  to  careful 
cultivation  in  order  to  get  the  soil  in  the  proper  physical 
condition  for  the  promotion  of  plant  growth,  and  in  order 
to  store  a  sufficient  amount  of  moisture  within  reach  of 
the  plant  roots  to  carry  the  growing  crop  through  a  pro- 
tracted drouth,  is  simply  inviting  failure  should  a  season 
of  unusual  drouth  follow. 

Another  feature  that  originated  with  Mr.  Campbell, 
which  he  regards  of  vital  importance,  is  the  sub-soil  packer. 
This  is  an  absolutely  new  farming  implement,  the  essential 
feature  consists  of  a  series  of  sharp,  wedge-shaped  wheels, 
that  cut  into  the  ground,  and  literally  wedge  the  portions 
between  them  together. 

These  wheels  exert  both  a  lateral  and  a  downward  pres- 
sure, accomplishing  a  number  of  desirable  results.  They 
elimnate  the  air  spaces  left  by  overturning  the  furrow  slice 
along  the  bottom  and  the  sides  of  preceding  furrows ;  press ' 
the  earth  firmly  around  the  weeds,  clods  and  stubble;  aid 
in  pulverizing  the  soil,  thus  increasing  its  capillary  attrac- 
tion and  its  water-holding  capacity;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
they  leave  the  surface  soil  loose  and  in  condition  to  prevent 
unnecessary  loss  of  moisture  through  evaporation. 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL  311 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


CORRESPONDENCE  COURSES  OF  STUDY. 

There  has  not  been  any  development  in  educational 
lines  in  recent  years  to  equal  in  extent  and  importance  that 
which  relates  to  the  use  of  correspondence  or  mail  courses 
of  study.  Every  one  has  become  familiar  with  the  mail 
order  mercantile  house  which  is  prepared  to  do  business 
with  the  individual  consumer  anywhere  in  the  country. 
The  mail  routes  of  Uncle  Sam  reach  into  every  settlement 
of  the  country.  They  cover  the  vast  prairies  as  well  as 
penetrate  into  the  deep  woods  of  the  timbered  regions.  The 
facilities  for  communication  between  people  are  not  better 
for  the  residents  of  the  cities  than  for  the  residents  of  the 
country.  Great  mercantile  houses  have  taken  advantage 
of  this  to  establish  communication  with  consumers  direct, 
to  sell  to  them  direct,  and  to  transact  all  their  business  by 
mail.  There  is  some  prejudice  against  this  because  of  the 
unquestioned  fact  that  here  is  a  form  of  competition  that 
is  injurious  to  local  business  and  therefore  retards  rather 
than  aids  in  building  up  local  trading  communities.  But 
the  mail  order  business  is  a  reality. 

Another  extension  of  this  same  work  and  we  have  the 
correspondence  course  of  study.  By  and  through  private 
enterprise  this  plan  has  grown  to  great  proportions  in  recent 
years.  There  are  correspondence  courses  in  nearly  every- 
thing. They  teach  science,  literature,  art,  trades,  mechan- 
ics, chemistry,  pharmacy,  bookkeeping,  surveying,  draught- 
ng,  engineering,  writing,  weaving,  electricity,  etc.  As  a 


312  CAMPBELL'S  BOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

result  of  this  work  it  has  been  placed  within  the  reach  of 
thousands  of  boys  and  girls  to  secure  special  education  they 
desire  without  the  great  expense  of  attending  some  school 
or  college  in  a  distant  city.  The  son  of  a  poor  mechanic 
struggling  for  a  living  in  a  city  factory  becomes  ambitious 
to  learn  a  useful  trade  or  science,  and  his  only  time  is  that 
which  most  boys  use  for  play-time.  But  his  ambition  leads 
him  to  take  up  a  correspondence  course  of  study,  and  in  the 
long  evenings  at  home  he  pores  over  these  books  until  he 
has  mastered  his  subject.  The  result  is  that  a  great  engi- 
neer, or  inventor,  or  contractor,  or  business  man  is  devel- 
oped. No  matter  how  many  great  colleges  or  universities 
might  have  been  founded,  this  development  of  the  poor 
boy  who  must  labor  while  he  learns  would  never  have  been 
possible  but  for  the  correspondence  course. 

The  theory  of  the  correspondence  course  system  is  the 
taking  of  the  school  into  the  home.  It  is  not  possible  for 
any  great  proportion  of  the  ambitious  boys  and  girls  of  the 
country  to  take  advantage  of  our  schools  of  highe.r  educa- 
tion. To  many  millions  of  them  it  is  denied  because  of 
various  circumstances.  They  have  not  the  time,  they  have 
have  not  the  preliminary  preparation,  they  cannot  afford 
it,  they  do  not  know  how  to  get  into  the  colleges.  These 
shut-out  boys' and  girls  are  just  as  important  to  the  country 
as  those  for  whom  the  college  doors  open.  The  corres- 
pondence course  of  study  takes  the  college  right  to  these 
boys  and  girls.  It  opens  the  way  for  higher  education  to 
millions  who  would  otherwise  have  no  such  opportunity. 

So  valuable  is  this  principle  that  it  is  receiving  state 
recognition.  Much  of  the  development  of  the  correspond- 
ence course  plan  is  due  to  private  enterprise.  All  honor  to 
those  who  have  been  pioneers  in  this  work.  But  it  has 
been  taken  up  by  such  public  institutions  as  for  instance, 


son,  CULTURE   .\I\MF.U.  313 

the  Armour  Institute,  of  Chicago,  in  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  it  ought  to  be  largely  -a  public  work.  It  is  being  taken 
up  by  the  great  agricultural  and  industrial  colleges  of  the 
country.  Legislatures  are  making  appropriations  for  carry- 
ing on  the  work.  It  is  only  a  matter  of  time  until  many  of 
the  general  branches  will  be  taught  in  this  way  under  state 
supervision. 

There  have  been  prepared  a  number  of  courses  in  general 
agriculture,  and  some  of  these  of  great  merit.  It  is  a  little 
strange  that  the  one  subject  which  more  than  any  other 
lends  itself  readily  to  the  correspondence  course  idea  has 
been  neglected  until  the  last — agriculture.  There  can  be 
no  teaching  of  agriculture  away  from  the  farm.  Actual 
contact  with  the  soil  is  essential  in  the  teaching  of  agricul- 
ture. No  man  can  learn  to  farm  by  poring  over  books. 
But  if  in  the  poring  over  books  he  has  opportunity  to  go 
out  every  day  and  apply  in  practical  way  that  which  he  is 
learning,  then  much  may  be  learned  of  great  value  from  the 
books.  It  is  because  of  this  that  a  correspondence  course 
in  agriculture  seems  especially  appropriate.  The  farmer 
is  less  likely  than  any  other  to  find  opportunity  to  get  away 
from  his  work  and  to  take  up  special  courses  of  study  in  the 
colleges.  He  seldom  has  the  preliminary  preparation  so 
that  he  can  get  into  the  agricultural  colleges.  But  he  does 
have  some  time  for  study  and  he  generally  has  the  disposi- 
tion to  study  and  to  learn.  The  correspondence  course, 
when  it  comes  to  the  farmer,  comes  to  one  who  can  make 
the  greatest  possible  use  of  the  same. 

But  most  of  the  correspondence  courses  as  prepared  not 
only  by  corporations  making  a  specialty  of  this  work  but 
by  the  colleges  and  universities,  are  distinctly  intended  to 
take  boys  and  girls  from  the  farms  and  to  put  them  into 
the  workshops  of  the  cities.  It  is  not  very  difficult  to  lead 


314  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

the  farm  residents  to  feel  that  in  some  other  field  of  activity 
the  chance  of  success  is  better  than  in  their  own.  That  is 
why  the  farmers  are  so  often  approached  with  suggestions 
of  learning,  through  correspondence  courses,  something 
that  will  fit  them  for  other  work. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  farmer  can  gain  most  from  a 
correspondence  course  with  direct  relation  to  his  own  work. 
The  time  has  passed  for  sneering  at  the  so-called  book- 
farmer.  The  college  bred  farm  superintendent  is  a  reality 
and  a  success.  Men  who  are  making  a  study  of  farming 
with  special  reference  to  well  established  principles  are 
taking  the  lead.  The  average  farmer  does  his  work  well, 
and  he  succeeds  fairly  well,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  might 
do  a  little  better  by  knowing  some  things.  He  gains  a  great 
deal  by  the  study  of  farm  papers  and  magazines,  but  he 
too  often  treats  their  advice  lightly. 

What  is  needed  for  the  farmer  in  these  days  is  some 
method  by  which  there  can  be  brought  right  home  to  him 
all  the  science  and  all  the  achievement  of  the  colleges,  the 
results  of  special  study  and  investigation,  the  lessons  of 
innumerable  experiments,  and  to  do  this  in  a  way  that  will 
appeal  to  him  as  something  practicable.  He  should  be  able 
to  gain  knowledge  of  a  kind  that  is  useful.  No  theory 
should  be  presented  to  him  without  a  purpose.  Nothing 
should  be  given  him  that  has  not  a  practical  side.  It  is 
well  he  should  understand  the  science  of  the  soil  physics 
and  seed  germination  and  plant  development  and  all  that 
—but  he  should  understand  all  this  with  special  reference 
to  making  his  own  crops  bigger  and  better.  The  philosophy 
of  farming  is  all  very  well,  but  the  essential  thing  is  to 
accomplish  great  results.  Now  it  is  entirely  possible  that 
through  the  correspondence  course  of  study  method  the 
farirer  may  be  given  the  essentials  of  his  science  in  such  a 


CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULI UKE  MANUAL  315 

way  that  he  can  immediately  apply  them  to  the  problems 
just  before  him.  The  farmer  is  in  a  better  position  to  profit 
by  and  through  a  correspondence  course  than  any  other. 

The  extension  of  the  rural  route  service  has  brought 
every  farm  in  the  country  up  next  to  the  city. 

In  order  to  meet  the  demand  for  further  and  more  def- 
inite instruction  in  the  principles  of  scientific  soil  culture 
there  is  in  preparation  a  complete  correspondence  course 
in  agriculture  having  special  reference  at  all  times  to  this 
branch  of  the  subject.  This  work  is  being  prepared  by  H. 
W.  Campbell,  and  under  his  personal  direction,  and  as  soon 
as  it  is  ready  for  use  the  fact  will  be  made  known  to  the 
public.  Those  who  take  this  correspondence  course  will 
have  many  benefits,  such  as  the  advantage  of  personal 
correspondence  with  the  editor,  the  results  of  scientific  in- 
vestigation and  personal  and  practical  instruction. 

In  this  connection  a  work  is  now  being  carried  on  that 
is  sure  to  be  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  all  persons  in- 
terested at  all  in  the  subject.  At  the  time  this  is  written 
a  number  of  model  or  experimental  farms  are  in  operation 
in  various  states  of  the  west.  These  are  farms  on  which 
are  being  carried  on  the  best  principles  of  scientific  tillage 
under  the  personal  direction  of  Mr.  Campbell.  The  soil 
has  been  fitted  in  accordance  with  the  most  approved 
methods.  All  the  experience  of  the  past  25  years  has  been 
drawn  upon  to  make  these  farms  successful.  They  are  in 
the  hands  of  competent  persons.  An  exact  record  is  being 
kept,  and  the  results  will  be  carefully  computed.  The 
outcome  will  be  the  collection  of  data  regarding  scientific 
tillage  that  will  be  invaluable  to  the  farmers  of  the  dry 
country.  At  the  same  time  a  number  of  other  farms  are 
being  opened  and  secured.  The  sole  object  in  these  farms 
is  to  carry  on  this  educational  work.  They  are  not  operated 


316  CAMPBELL'S  SOIL  CULTURE  MANUAL 

for  profit  nor  as  a  side  line  for  speculative  purposes,  and 
they  are  kept  free  from  the  influences  that  might  tend  to 
exaggerate  the  results  for  selfish  reasons.  The  persons  who 
take  the  correspondence  course  will  be  the  greatest  gainers 
from  this  educational  and  demonstrative  work. 

Since  the  first  edition  of  this  book  was  printed  there  has 
also  been  started,  in  response  to  an  almost  universal  de- 
mand, a  monthly  magazine  called  Campbell's  Scientific 
Farmer,  which  is  devoted  wholly  to  the  teaching  of  the 
principles  of  scientific  soil  culture.  This  is  not  a  general 
farm  paper  nor  a  household  paper,  but  a  special  journal 
devoted  to  one  line  of  farming  or  one  branch  of  agriculture, 
just  as  a  stock  breeder's  journal  or  a  horticultural  magazine 
or  a  publication  devoted  to  forestry  or  irrigation.  This 
Campbell's  Scientific  Farmer  will  therefore  supplement  the 
great  work  in  which  we  have  been  engaged  many  years, 
by  carrying  direct  to  the  people  current  information  as 
to  what  is  done  and  is  being  done  in  the  various  portions  of 
the  country  with  regard  to  soil  culture  methods  best  adapted 
to  the  dry  country  or  to  dry  conditions. 

Everywhere  it  is  coming  to  be  recognized  that  agricul- 
ture is  a  great  science  and  that  it  is  one  of  the  things  about 
which  there  is  always  much  to  learn.  The  movement  back 
to  the  farms  is  genuine,  and  it  has  a  reason.  But  if  there 
is  to  be  a  movement  back  to  the  farms  it  should  be  intelli- 
gently directed.  More  than  that,  the  movement  should 
have  a  solid  foundation.  In  the  semi-arid  portions  of  the 
countries  lie  the  greatest  possibilities.  Those  who  make 
themselves  perfectly  familiar  with  every  question  which 
may  arise  in  regard  to  the  semi-arid  region  are  those  who 
will  achieve  greatest  success. 


INDEX.  317 

INDEX. 

Advantages  of  Semi- Arid  Region,  XVII,  130. 

Agricultural  Science,  Progress  in,  279. 

Air  in  the  Soil,  XIV,  111;  nitrogen  as  plant  food,  112;  rain  crust  ani  how  broken  up 
113;  shutting  out  the  air,  113,  115. 

Alfalfa,  XXV,  226;  plan  of  seeding,  227;  preparing  fields  for,  229. 

Arbor  Lodge,  244,  245. 

Arboriculture,  XXVIII,  241. 

Arid  plants,  seeking  new,  232. 

Barnyard  Manures,  XIX,  148. 

Basis  of  Prosperity,  IV,  24. 

Beet  Culture  with  Irrigation,  220;  without  irrigation,  225. 

Beets,  sugar,  growing,  218;  modern  factory,  221;  under  Campbell  system,  223. 

Blowing  of  the  lighter  soils,  178. 

Burning  stubble,  195, 

Burlington  farm,  model,  16;  results,  256. 

Campbell,  H.  W.,  portrait,  frontispiece;  at  dry  farming  congress,  297;  history  of 
his  work,  305. 

Campbell  system,  developed,  7;  vegetables  in  Colorado,  29;  with  sugar  beets,  223; 
corn,  167,  171;  world-wide  fame,  286;,  in  irrigation,  235;  commended  by  Mor- 
ton, 246;  results,  255;  domain,  276;  at  dry  farming  congress,  297;  history,  305; 
in  correspondence  course,  311. 

Capillary  attraction,  illustrated,  118. 

Century  Magazine  on  Campbell  system,  290. 

Check  row  planting,  160. 

Climate,  no  change  in,  274. 

Colorado,  eastern,  wheat,  190;  results  of  crops,  257;  corn  in,  25. 

Conditions  changing  by  reason  of  good  farming,  274. 

Crops,  markets,  and  prices,  XXXVIII,  282. 

Corn  growing,  XX,  156. 

Corn,  in  Colorado,  25;  root  development,  165;  by  Campbell  method,  167,  171;  area 
for,  170;  testing  seed,  172;  use  of  lister,  158. 

Correspondence  course  in  Soil  culture,  XLV,  311. 

Correspondence  and  comment,  XLII,  298. 

Cowan,  John  L.,  in  Century,  on  Campbell  system,  290. 

Curtis,  Wm.  E.,  on  Campbell  system,  289. 

Cultivation,  of  the  soil,  XVII,  137;  late,  of  trees,  209;  of  potatoes,  202;  time  of,  144; 
result  of  good,  166. 

Cultivators,   169. 

Culture,  summer  vs.  summer  fallow,  76. 
)eep  cultivation  and  root  development,  200. 
)epths  of  seeding,  proper,  185;  effect  of  different,  185. 

)isk  harrow,  VII,  37;  when  to  use,  38;  after  harvest,  39;  following  the  harvester,  39; 
size  of,  to  use,  42. 

Disking,  effect  of,  48;  in  early  spring,  177. 

Diversified  farming,  252.  • 

Domain  of  soil  culture,  XXXVI,  276. 

Drills,  178;  kinds  of  grain,  181;  seeding  with,  182, 

Drawbacks  to  humid  region,  133, 


318  INDEX. 


Dry  seasons,  273. 

Dust  blanket  explained,  247.  • 

Economy  in  seed,  153. 

Essentially  scientific  farming,  290. 

Evaporation,  XVI,  123;  danger  of,  141;  loss  at  the  surface,  126;  greatest      ,mc:.L 

of  waste,  138. 
Fall  plowing  old  land,  51. 
Feasting  time,  Colorado  melons,  21. 
Fertility  of  the  soil,  99;  elements  of,  105. 
Following  harvester  with  disk,  39. 
Free  homes  and  greater  crops,  27. 
Germination,  quick,  70;  of  wheat,  194. 
Getting  most  out  of  the  farm,  XXX,  251. 
Good  farming  and  good  morals.  XL,  293. 
Grain,  kinds  of  drills,  181;  stooling  of,  180,  266;  scientific  condition  for,  268;  winter 

killing  of,  263. 

Growing  potatoes,  XXII,  197. 
Hansen,  Prof.  N.  C.,  on  new  plants,  232. 
Harvesting  wheat  fifty  years  ago,  188. 
Harvest,  after,  189. 
Harvester,  following  with  disk,  39. 
Harrowing,  time  of,  187;  spring  wheat,  186. 
.History  of  the  movement,  XLIV,  305. 

Hopkins,  Prof.  Cyril  G.,  on  soils,  101;  on  fair  investigation,  295. 
How  to  use  the  Manual,  II,  15. 
Humid  regions,  drawbacks,  133. 
Ideal  farmer,  the,  III,  19. 
Ideal  farming  country,  135. 
Increase  of  products  under  soil  culture,  259. 
Inevitable  dry  seasons,  XXXV,  273. 
Introduction,  I,  5. 
Irrigation,  XXVII,  235. 
Kansas  experience,  259,  260. 
Keeping  mulch  in  condition,  146. 
Kilpatrick  ranch,  70;  results,  159. 
King,  Prof.  F.  H.,  experiments  in  soils,  62,  126. 
Live  stock  on  the  farm,  253. 
Listing,  wheat,  183;  corn,  158. 
Look  into  the  future,  VI,  32. 

Manure,  application,  149;  permanent  effects,  152;  modern  spreader,  151- 
Moisture,  saving  of,  141;  watching  it,  161. 
Montana  wheat  without  irrigation,  12,  34. 
Morals  and  good  farming,  293. 

Morton,  J.  Sterling,  portrait,  242;  on  Campbell's  work,  246. 
Mulch,  keeping  in  condition,  146. 
Nitrogen  as  plant  food,  112. 
North  Platte  station,  79. 
Over-production,  283. 
Percolation,  or  getting  water  down  into  the  sub-soil,  XV,  117;  capillary  attraction 

illustrated,  118;  how  water  stored  in  soil,  119. 


INDEX.  319 

Physical  condition  of  the  soil,  XI,  91;  time  to  work  soil,  94;  perfect  soil  conditions, 

96;  condition,  239. 

Planting,  check  row,  160;  with  lister,  161. 
Plowing,  VIII,  44;  spring  plowing  old  land,  45;  when,  45;  effect  of  disking,  48; 

proper  depth,  50;  fall  plowing  old  land,  51;  breaking  new  prairie  kad,  54; 

even  furrows,  53;  fall  breaking,  55. 
Pomeroy  farm,  results,  67,  89,  114,  171,  255;  wheat  crop  on,  193;  farm  trees,  207, 

210,  215. 
Potatoes,  growing,  197;  preparing  soil  for,  199;  seed  and  planting,  201;  variety  of, 

202;  cultivation  of,  202. 
Practical  results,  XXXI,  255;  at  Hill  City,  255;  at  Holdrege,  256,  in  Colorado, 

257;  at  Greenfield,  Kan.,  259;  in  dozen  states,  277. 
Prejudices,  overcoming,  281. 
Prevention  of  winter  killing,  264. 
Preparing  soil  for  potatoes,  199. 
Prevention  of  waste  on  farm,  252. 
Progress  in  agricultural  science,  XXXVII,  279. 
Proper  phyiscal  condition  of  soil,  50. 
Quantity  of  seed,  XXIV,  270. 

Quick,  Herbert,  in  World's  Work,  on  Campbell  system,  287. 
Rain  crust,  and  how  broken  up,  113. 
Rainfall,  not  lack  of,  125. 
Rains,  difference  in,  131. 
Raising  standard  of  living,  294. 
Rapidity  of  evaporation,   124. 
Results  declared  to  be  remarkable,  289. 
Roberts,  Prof,  Isaac  P.,  on  fertility  of  land,  94. 
Root  development,  in  loose  soil,  67;  in  firm  soil,  65;  with  shallow  cultivation,  198; 

deep  cultivation,  200;  in  all  soils,  164,  166. 
Roots  and  soil,  magnified,  201. 
Root  system,  value  of  healthy,  71. 
Rotation,  experiments  in,  77. 
Salvation  of  the  dry  .belt,  287. 
Saving  of  the  moisture,  141. 
Scientific  condition  for  grain,  267. 
Seed  and  planting,  potatoes,  201. 
Seed  bed,  making  with  packer,  66. 
Seed  corn,  testing,  172. 
Seeding,  for  alfalfa,  227;  alfalfa  on  new  breaking,  230;  effect  of  different  Jspths, 

187;  proper  depth  of,  185;  with  three  kinds  of  drills,  182. 
Seed,  quantity  of,  270;  too  much  per  acre,  271;  amount  of,  163. 
Seeking  new  arid  plants,  XXVI,  232. 
Semi-arid  region,  advantages  of,   130. 
Setting  of  trees,  207. 
Shade  and  Shelter,  trees,  204. 
Shallow  cultivation,  root  development,  198 
Shallow  vs.  deep  cultivation,  138. 
Size  of  disk  to  use,  42. 
Small  farms,  better  farming,  V,  28. 
Sod,  breaking  for  fall  wheat,  56;  new  prairie  land,  54. 


320  INDEX. 

Soil,  after  packing  and  harrowing,  63;  as  packer  leaves  it,  60;  as  the  plow  leaves 
it,  46;  cultivation  of,  137;  shallow  vs.  deep  cultivation,  138;  time  of,  140; 
fertility,  XII,  99,  52;  a  condition  of,  100;  saving,  101;  experts  changing  views 
on,  102;  what  it  is,  104;  elements  of  fertility,  105;  physical  condition  of,  91, 
49,  186,  239;  time  to  work,  94;  perfect  conditions,  96;  preparing  for  potatoes, 
199;  summer  treatment  of,  177,  189;  surface  harrowed,  47;  water  stored  in  for 
irrigation,  236;  blowing  of,  178;  of  semi-arid  region,  130;  conditions,  143;  time 
of  cultivation,  144. 

Soil  Mulch  or  dust  blanket,  XXIX,  247;  before  rain,  248;  after  rain,  249. 

Soil  culture,  correspondence  course  in,  311;  domain  of,  276;  where  developed,  276; 
results,  277;  increase  of  products  under,  259. 

Sorghum  by  thorough  cultivation,  257. 

Specialty  in  farming,  19. 

Spring,  early  disking  in,  177;  early  work,  84;  plowing  old  land,  45;  treatment  of 
soil,  177,  189. 

Spring  wheat,  harrowing,  186;  growing,  176. 

Stooling  of  grain,  XXXIII,  266;  cause  of,  267;  explained,  180. 

Sub- irrigation,  238. 

Sub-surface  packing,  IX,  58;  packer  illustrated,  64;  mission  of  the  packer,  59;  soil 
as  packer  leaves  it,  60;  rolling  vs.  sub-surface  packing,  63;  roots  in  firm  soil, 
65;  making  seed  bed,  66;  ideal  condition  of  soil,  69;  effect  of  packer,  73. 

Sugar  beet  growing,  XXIV,  218;  thinning  beets,  218;  forty-acre  field,  219;  under 
irrigation,  220,  modern  factory,  221;  by  Campbell  method,  223;  without  irri- 
gation, 224. 

Summer  culture,  X,  75;  experiments  in  rotation,  77;  results  of  tilling,  79;  how  done, 
82;  early  spring  work,  84;  of  universal  application,  88;  in  detail,  177. 

Tilling,  results  of,  79;  how  summer  tilling  done,  82. 

Time  for  quick  work,  145. 

Time,  of  cultivation,  140,  144;  of  harrowing,  187. 

Tools  for  the  farm,  XLIII,  302. 

True  soil  mulch,  250. 

Trees,  on  the  farm,  XXIII,  204;  for  shade  and  shelter,  204;  practical  work  with, 
205;  ground  for,  206;  setting  of,  207;  peach,  5  months  old,  207;  late  cultivation, 
209;  causes  of  failure  with,  211;  peach  17  months  old,  207;  Illinois  experience 
with,  211;  Kansas  experience  with,  213;  shade  results,  214;  elm,  17  months 
old,  215;  method  of  planting,  241. 

Value  of  machinery  per  acre,  30 

Water  holding  capacity  of  the  soil,  XIII,  107;  water  contents  of  soil,  62;  soil  con- 
ditioas,  109;  stored  in  the  soil,  119;  stored  in  soil  for  irrigation,  236. 

Weeds,  keep  dean  from  field,  178;  problem  of,  159. 

Weeder,  the,  187. 

"Yheat,  XXI,  175;  crop  on  Pomeroy  farm,  193;  eastern  Colorado,  190;  spring,  176; 
in  three  shiges  of  growth,  179;  in  Wyoming,  191;  germination  in  two  soils,  194; 
growth  of  listed,  1S4;  harrowing  spring,  186;  harvesting  fifty  years  ago,  188; 
listing  of,  163;  the  pioneer's  money  crop,  194;  winter,  191. 

Whitney,  Prof.  Milton,  on  fertility,  102;  on  chemistry,  94;  en  evaporation,  124; 
on  soils,  132. 

W;nter  killing  autumn  sown  grain,  XXXII,  263;  prevention  ui  2€'<i. 

Winter  wheat,    191. 

World-wide  fame  of  this  work,  XXXIX,  286. 

World's  Work,  on  Campbell  system,  287. 

Wyoming  wheat,  191. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  per  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


MAY   14  1946 

AW*    «  1947 

AUG  2 p  1954 


RECEIVED 

5 166-1  PM 

LOAN  DEPT. 

Returned  by 

MAR  2  01973 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


